


And I, Your Willing Victim

by mitigates



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Angst, Atsumu catches feelings, Atsumu is a streamer, Atsumu is rich too, But Sakusa isn't good at the friends part, Cheating, Friends With Benefits, Implied Sexual Content, Long-Distance Relationship, M/M, Or maybe its just grown Kageyama, Or maybe not so unrequited, Overwatch - Freeform, SakuAtsu is Endgame, Sakusa is a little shit, Sakusa is his tutor, Sexual Education, Sexual Tension, Side BokuAkaOsamu, Side: IwaOi - Freeform, Side: KuroDai - Freeform, Side: TsukiYama, no beta we die like daichi, ooc Kageyama, protective kageyama, unrequited pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-21
Updated: 2020-12-29
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:13:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 32,884
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28207383
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mitigates/pseuds/mitigates
Summary: “Wait- what exactly are you asking for help with?” The look on his face was Atsumu’s answer. “You want my help with sex?” Atsumu asked the words louder than he meant to.He winced and ran his hand through his messy curly hair. “Well, yes.”Atsumu stared at him. “Wait- so, excuse me if I’m being crass, but yer willin’ to fuck me, you just don’t wanna be my friend.”or:Atsumu needs a tutor for his Psych class, Sakusa needs a tutor for intimacy. Basically goes downhill from there :')
Relationships: Hinata Shouyou/Miya Atsumu, Hinata Shouyou/Ushijima Wakatoshi, Iizuna Tsukasa/Sakusa Kiyoomi, Miya Atsumu/Sakusa Kiyoomi
Comments: 51
Kudos: 235





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> back again with another damn fic that I swapped from first person. let me know if there's any glaring mistakes.
> 
> i've never really written any SakuAtsu that's longer than a few thousand words so hopefully this does them justice. sakusa is probably ooc, i neglected to add any kind of germ wariness.
> 
> anyways, please enjoy :)
> 
> song title from: just give me a reason - pink

Atsumu pushed his fingers into his temples and hoped that if he added enough pressure, he would at least pass out. No such luck so far but he wasn’t one to stop trying.

His professor chuckled and pushed a thick business card toward the bleached-blonde. “Contact my TA. He should be available to take on another student to tutor. He’s the only person I’ve ever had absolutely ace this class. He has a natural gift for the sciences and he’s a nice guy.”

Atsumu accepted the business card and analyzed it. “Don’t think I’ve met him, but his name sounds familiar.”  
  


“He plays for the volleyball club, you probably recognize his name from there.” Professor Enomata waved Atsumu away. “He prefers to text. Now, shoo. Go study something.”

Atsumu laughed and left his office. Professor Enomata was trying his damndest to help Atsumu, but there was just something about Abnormal Psychology that he just sucked at. It was the only class he wasn’t doing well in and it was incredibly frustrating.  
  


He glanced at the business card again and wondered why the hell a teacher’s assistant/tutor/volleyball player had a business card in the first place. It was aesthetically pleasing though, it was a simple white card and thick cardstock. It had his initials on the corner on the front and his name, number, and email on the back.  
  


Atsumu pulled his phone out and punched in the number.

**Atsumu** : _Hi, Prof Enomata gave me your card. He said you might have an opening for another helpless student to tutor? If so, I’m ready and willing and I can pay!_

He didn’t respond right away, so Atsumu shoved his phone into his pocket. He went towards the coffee cart to refuel. The line was horrendously long, but moving tolerably quickly. He pulled his phone out again and scrolled through social media, mindlessly double-tapping photos.  
  


“I’m sorry, dude, but I ran your card twice and it isn’t going through. It isn’t my card readers fault that you’re broke.”

Atsumu peered up at the guy two people ahead of him trying to pay for his hot tea. 

He ran his fingers through his hair. “How much is this again?”

The cashier rolled her eyes and pointed behind her. “It’s 2.75. You’re telling me you don’t have $3?”

The tall guy she was chastising blushed fiercely and the person between Atsumu and the front of the line snickered. “Bro, move on if you can’t pay. Some of us can.”

Atsumu nudged his back and he spun around to glare. His face softened when he saw who it was. “Oh, hey Tsumu, what’s up?”

“Don’t be a dick!” Atsumu nudged his friend again and he rolled his eyes.

“I just want coffee! It’s not my fault he’s holding up the line.” Atsumu looked back towards the tall guy at the front of the line and he was walking away, without his tea. The tips of his ears were as red as his jacket.

“Yer lettin’ me cut you.”

“What- No-”

“Shut up, Akagi. Move.” Atsumu pushed in front of him and he groaned dramatically.

“What can I get you?”

“That tea yer about to toss out and a small black coffee.” Atsumu handed her $10. “Keep the change, use it to find some classes on how not ta’ be a dick to customers. Ya could have at least been quiet about it.” 

She looked up at Atsumu, her face twisted in annoyance, but hesitated when she caught sight of his honey-blonde hair. “Oh- uh, I didn’t mean- sorry, Miya.”

Atsumu took the drinks and looked for the tall guy that almost disappeared into the lunch crowd. He power walked after him, trying not to spill both drinks.

“Oi!” Atsumu called out. He did not turn around. “OI!” He called a little louder. Several students waved at Atsumu. “OI, TALL GUY, STOP!”

He finally looked behind him, confused as all hell, and stopped walking. “Me?”

Atsumu caught up to him. “Yes. Here.” Atsumu handed him his tea. He continued staring at Atsumu, not moving his hand to take it. “Take it.”  
  


Atsumu pushed it toward him again and he took the hot cup from Atsumu’s hand. “I just wanted to apologize on behalf of the rest of the human race that some people are unapologetically total assholes.”

He blushed again and looked at the cup in his hand. “Thanks.”

“Don’t thank me, jus’ throw it at her next time.” Atsumu winked at him and smiled.

“You’re- you’re Miya, aren’t you?”

Atsumu nodded. “I am.”

There were a lot of people on campus who knew who he was, but it wasn’t for anything spectacular. He was a streamer. In between classes and whenever he had any free time, he streamed competitive Overwatch for as many as 12,000 viewers at a time. He was in the top 200 of the game and pretty good at it, if he did say so himself. He mostly did it for the money, but he also held charity events around campus where he raised money for the school pantry that fed students in need. He and other streamer friends of his were able to keep it fully stocked with things ranging from ramen to tampons to small household items that were dorm approved.

Atsumu held his free hand out. “You are?”

“Kiyoomi Sakusa. Or just Sakusa.”

What a damn coincidence.

“Ah-ha! You don’t answer yer texts!” Atsumu exclaimed louder than he needed to, making the guy even more uncomfortable than he already was.

“I’m sorry, my what?” He looked genuinely confused and frankly, a bit scared at Atsumu’s outburst.

Atsumu pulled his business card out of his back pocket. “Enomata gave it to me. I could use some help in his Abnormal Psych class. He took pity on me and my incessant grovelin’ enough to pass along your info. He said you might have room for someone else to tutor.”

He nodded. “Um, yeah. I mean, well no.” He shook his head and looked away from Atsumu. “I can’t- I can’t tutor you.”

Atsumu’s face fell as he realized his best chance of passing that class was slipping away. “Shit, really? Ya don’t have time? I can just do small sessions, short ones, even through email or skype or somethin’. Or maybe a study guide google doc type thing? I’m sure there’s-”

“No. Sorry. I can’t.” With that, Sakusa walked away and left him speechless for the first time in his life.

* * *

Atsumu sat in his gaming chair flicking his pen against his textbook. He was rereading the same stupid sentences over and over. It still wasn’t making sense. He had completed his obligatory online homework and thankfully they didn’t have anything due, but he needed to at least try and get the damn studying in.

He had never had such a problem with a class until Abnormal Psych. He did okay in regular Psych where he earned a B, but there was something about the different terms and brain terminology that was driving him through an endless loop of utter confusion.

He opened his stream and decided to get his mind off of it for at least a little bit. 

“Hi everyone! This is me not studyin’ and playin’ video games instead, I am happy to be yer role model as long as you only do what I don’t do.” He pulled his headset on. “I kind of want to play pubs right now since nobody I know is online. Does anybody wanna play with me?”

His streaming numbers got up to 1500 in those first 10 minutes, but very few of them actually wanted to play with him. They usually just said they weren’t good enough or they didn’t want to bring him down, but that didn’t make sense to Atsumu.

At the end of the day, it was a game and it was fun.

~ ` ~ ` ~ ` ~ ` ~

Atsumu eventually got a team together and went into arcade mode.

“I’m just gonna play a character that I never ever play.” He scrolled his mouse through the options and went with Zenyatta.

Atsumu was a notoriously awful healer, his regular squad knew that through and through. They’d die if he ever ended up as their main healer in a game, they’d die repeatedly. 

“Who the hell let the lesser Miya queue as healer?”

Atsumu gasped. “You don’t trust my healin’ skills, GreatKing?” Atsumu always had fun referring to Tooru Oikawa by his game handle.

“No.” He laughed rudely. “Absolutely not.”

“We are playing arcade, you bag of ass, it doesn’t really matter. We can all go healer.” Lev said as he chose McCree, a DPS character Atsumu had never seen him play.

“Thank you, Lev, you’re a doll and I appreciate ya. I’m banning Oikawa from my chat.” Atsumu laughed maniacally.

“If you don’t shut up, I’m going to tell everyone here which class you’re failing.” Oikawa snapped back.

“Jeez, so sensitive,” Atsumu muttered as he used his ult way too early.

“You’re an awful healer.” Daichi commented, in a nicer way than Oikawa. “That’s okay, I’ll switch and carry you.”

“I appreciate that.” Atsumu laughed as Oikawa got sniped from across the map. “Oi, GreatKing, you have a shield, you should pro’lly use it.”

Oikawa groaned with all of his gusto. “I hate this game. Let’s play Apex.”

“I’m a God at Apex.” Atsumu said proudly, trying to be as serious as possible.

“Uh, _suuuure-_ ” Daichi commented lightly.

“You suck at that too.” Oikawa teased mercilessly. "You only play trios because you need two other people to carry you. Have you even touched ranked?"

“I’m startin’ a poll in the chat, which of ya am I kicking first?” Atsumu asked loudly.

Suna spoke up for the first time since the game started. “I haven’t said anything. Kick all of them.”

“Suna votes for all of ya to go. I have to say, I’m not entirely against that decision.”

They all laughed and started arguing with each other. Atsumu winked at the screen. “Thank you for the donations, tonight guys, you’re all lifesavers.”

“Did you guys hear Atsumu threatened the girl at the coffee cart earlier?” Kenma asked.

“I did not! I told her not to be such a dick.” Atsumu defended himself.

“That’s not what I heard. I heard you threatened to blow up her espresso machine.” Kenma continued quietly.

“Who the hell would even say that? The only person that was there that I actually knew was Akagi!” Atsumu glanced through his viewers and spotted his screen name. “I see you, you can’t hide from me!” Atsumu clicked on his name and invited him into the chat. “Get in here!”

“Ooooo, you’re making blonde Miya maaaaad!” Oikawa crooned into the mic.

Akagi turned his cam on and was already talking before his mic even connected. “-didn’t say anything to anybody! It was somebody else in line.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, likely story.”

“Tsumu was very nice. He defended the broke guy and even bought him his tea, but from what I saw he turned Tsumu down hard.”

Atsumu glared at his cam. “Well, yer not wrong. I need an abnormal psych tutor and I got rejected pretty hard.”

“Why did he say no?”

Atsumu shrugged. “Not sure. He probably doesn’t have time. I don’t blame the guy, he’s pro’lly busy tutoring others.”

His phone buzzed with a message and he glanced over at it.

**Sakusa** : _it’s not that I don’t have time. I apologize for earlier, I was just a bit shocked that you asked for help. I’ll tutor you. I just don’t want it to be so public._

Atsumu frowned at his phone and looked back up at his screen. “He’s pro’lly embarrassed to be seen with me or something.”

**Sakusa** _: I am not! I just mean, I don’t want to broadcast my life across the internet._

  
“Alright guys, I love ya, but I do really need to study.” Atsumu waved goodbye and turned the steam off. He picked his phone up.

  
**Atsumu** : _I find it kind of mean of you to assume I would do that._

 **Sakusa** _: I’m sorry, again, but I’ll tutor you. You can come over to my dorm._

 **Atsumu** : _do you want me to wear a disguise?_

Atsumu saw him start typing then stop at least 3 times.

**Atsumu** : _that was a joke, jeez, I get it. Which room are you in?_

 **Sakusa** : _306, in the east hall._

Atsumu scoffed and picked his book up. Sakusa was next door to him. What were the chances? Atsumu stepped out of his dorm and knocked on the room next to him after checking to see if the hallway was clear.

Sakusa opened it, shirtless and Atsumu raised his eyebrows teasingly. “Ya know I need help in Psych, not Anatomy, right?”

Sakusa blushed and retreated back into his room. He pulled a shirt on and closed the door behind me. “How did you get here so fast?”

Atsumu narrowed his eyes at him. “I live next door.”

“This is an alphabetically sorted dorm.” Sakusa stated plainly.

Atsumu nodded. “Yep and my name is Atsumu Miya. When I applied here, my name was incorrectly transcribed as Sumu, so they took it upon themselves to also change the order of my name. Low and behold, stuck in the ‘S’ dorm.”

Atsumu peered around his spotless room and noticed each bed nicely made. “Do you not have a roommate or are ya just this clean?”

He rubbed his neck. “I’m just clean, I guess. We both are.” 

“Who’s yer roommate? Do I know him?”

He shrugged. “Don’t you know everyone?”

Atsumu glared at him. “Can you at least attempt to get to know me first before making all these assumptions?”

He sighed. “Yeah. I can. I guess My roommate is Kei Tsukishima. He’s on the volleyball team with me. He isn’t around much and he’s kind of a dick.”

“Oh, he’s rude too?”

He ignored Atsumu’s ‘too’ comment and nodded. “He brings his boyfriend over here all hours of the night, it’s just annoying. He locks me out of the room a lot.” He frowned slightly as he pointed at his desk. “You can sit if you want.”

Atsumu sat. “There’s no way yer not bringing home guys and/or girls all night lookin’ like that.” Atsumu set his book on the counter and stared at Sakusa.

His cheeks went red. It was kind of endearing. “I’m not.”

Atsumu nodded and hummed at him. “So, how does this work? How much do you charge?”

“Charge?”

“Yeah, I mean I get money from streaming so I have a good budget. How much are ya plannin’ to charge? I’ve talked to other tutors that charge around $50 an hour for this class. I figured since you’re a TA that it might be a bit more.”

He stared at Atsumu, dumbfounded. “I don’t- I don’t charge.”

“Why wouldn’t you charge?” Atsumu raised both eyebrows at him. 

He shrugged. “I don’t know, I’ve never thought about it before. Tutoring is a hobby, not a way to make money.”

Atsumu held a hand up. “Sakusa, I strongly and wholeheartedly disagree. Gamin’ is a hobby and I turned it into a way to make money. You should do the same. From what Enomata says, yer quite the genius.” 

He shook his head. “It’s not-”

“I don’t mean to tell you what to do or anything, but you have a lot of things going for you.”

He sat on the edge of his bed. “Like what?”

Atsumu turned towards him. “Yer smart. You play sports. You are probably nice. You have killer abs. Yer good looking. That’s quite a few good things.” Atsumu nodded to himself and stood up. “I was a bit surprised when you gave me your room number, so I only grabbed my book. I’ll be right back. I’m going to grab my bag.”  
  


He nodded and went to grab his bag as well.

Atsumu opened his door to a tall blonde who had his arm around a slightly shorter guy with dark green hair. 

“What the hell are you doing here?”

Atsumu assumed the blonde one must be Kei.

Atsumu glared at him. “Trying to exit the room if ya don’t mind.”

The darker haired boy smiled. “Don’t be so rude, Tsukki! Hi, I’m Yamaguchi. You’re Miya, aren’t you?”

Atsumu nodded and shook his hand. “And I assume the one with the bad attitude is the roommate?” Atsumu grinned up at the tall blonde in front of him.

He scowled and pushed past Atsumu. “Why’s there a guy in here Sakusa? Don’t tell me you’ve finally decided to devirginize yourself.” He pulled Yamaguchi with him and flopped down on his bed. 

Sakusa looked embarrassed and was ready to throw something at Tsukishima but Atsumu interrupted. “You can come to my room. No need to be around all this negative energy.”

Tsukishima looked up from his phone. “Your stream sucks.” He smirked and looked back at his phone.

“Your attitude sucks.” Atsumu retorted.  
  


“Your viewers are only there for your atrocious flirting.”  
  


“And your boyfriend is only here for dick, there’s no way he’s staying for the personality.”

He looked up again, a small smile on his face. “He may stay.”

Atsumu rolled his eyes and went back to his room to grab his bag. He grabbed his water bottle and settled back into Sakusa’s desk chair. 

“What is it you think you need the most help with?” Sakusa pulled up another chair to the desk and sat on the side of it.

Atsumu sighed and looked at the chapter he was on, inwardly groaning. “I get the basics, I think. I know what psychological disorders are. I know what abnormal behavior is. I could use some help with reaction formations, that's what we are on right now. I think I need help with psychoanalytic theory in general.”

“Okay. Uh- let me quiz you and see what we should focus on.” He pulled out a thick binder.

“A quiz on day 1? Yer that kind of professor, huh?” 

He shrugged. “I just want to see where you’re at. I’m going to give you some definitions and I want you to tell me what I’m defining. If you remember, that’s usually how Professor Enomata does his bi-monthly quizzes.”

Atsumu nodded. “Come at me, senpai.”

He blushed slightly and looked down at his paper. “What are the ego’s protective methods of reducing anxiety by unconsciously distorting reality?” He bit his lip and looked at the book. “Just answer, I’ll keep track of what you get right and wrong.”

“Displacement.”

Tsukishima snorted and Yamaguchi hit him with a pillow. “Please ignore him.”

“What is a term that is inclined to a healthy reddish color that’s often associated with outdoor life?”

“Sanguine.” He did at least know that one.

Tsukishima made another noise. “So you’re not a complete idiot.”

“I’m not obnoxious either and I could really do without the background noise.”

Tsukishima laughed and went back to sharing a headphone with Yamaguchi.

“What is the scientific study of psychological disorders?”

“Psycho...ology, something. Psychopathology? I think.”

“Which defense mechanism happens when a person unconsciously develops attitudes that are the opposite of unacceptable repressed desires to conceal them?”

“I have no idea.” Atsumu leaned his forehead against the desk.

“That’s alright. It’s what I’m here for.” Sakusa asked Atsumu a few more questions and let him know that he impressively missed two-thirds of them. “You do know the basics and that’s a good start. I have some study tips I can give you that work for other people.”

“What works for you?”

“What do you mean?”

“How do you study? What helps ya remember all of this?” Atsumu motioned to the book.

“I have a few different methods. I like to rent the study rooms in the library. The quiet helps me.”

“I like the quiet.”

“Why are you a video game streamer then?” Tsukishima interrupted from his bed.

“It pays the bills.” Atsumu responded with a shrug. 

“Let’s go get lunch, Tsukki, come on.” Yamaguchi dragged him out of the bed and towards the door. 

“Please put a sock on the door if you’re going to devirginize him. I don’t imagine it will take long, but for my sake-”

“I planned to do it live on my steam. Sakusa and I already discussed it, but thanks fer the advice. Bring us back some tea, would ya?” Atsumu smiled widely at him.

His jaw twitched and Yamaguchi dragged him away before he could respond.

“I know it pro’lly doesn’t seem like it, but my room is quiet. I don’t have a roommate. It was too late in the year to change into the right dorm and everyone else was already assigned elsewhere.”

“There’s no way it’s quiet in your room.”

Atsumu huffed out a laugh. “You and Tsukishima don’t seem like the type to take it well if I was loud . You had no idea I was living next door, so that proves my point for me.”

“You’re not wrong there. I had no idea. It makes a lot of sense though.”

Atsumu furrowed his eyebrows. “Whaddya mean?”

“I have a few friends that watch your stream, friends from the volleyball team, and they insisted they see you in this area all the time. One of them, Oikawa, is in love with you.”

“Oikawa? GreatKing Oikawa? That’s not possible.” Atsumu crossed his arms and shook his head. “That fucker has been bullyin’ me since I was 9.”

“He’s a great cliche is what he is.”

Atsumu smiled in agreement. “Yeah, yer not wrong.” He stood up. “I have little interest in being here when yer buddy comes back. Do you want to go to my room?”

He hesitated. “I don’t know-”

Atsumu sighed. “I get that you have no interest in being part of my fandom, but I really need the help.” Atsumu pointed at his paper. “As you can see. I’ll even leave first and you can come after so nobody sees us together. Nobody knows where I live.” Atsumu was trying hard not to be offended at his blatant aversion toward being seen together.

He nodded and started gathering his stuff. “Okay. I’ll be over there in a minute.”

Atsumu grabbed his bag and went back to him room. Sakusa took an entire 10 minutes to come over to his dorm. He didn’t knock, he just rushed in and closed the door behind him. 

Atsumu looked up from his large desk. “Where’s the fire?”

Sakusa didn't respond as he was looking around Atsumu’s room in awe. Atsumu had to admit, he did go a bit overboard when he got that first direct deposit from streaming. He had a large desk that was a homework only zone. His computer desk took up a corner where all his streaming equipment was set up. He pushed together the two twin bed frames and bought a king-sized mattress. It took up a good chunk of his dorm room, but he was a wild sleeper.

“Come sit.” Sakysa walked toward him slowly and sat across from Atsumu. “We also need to discuss something.” Atsumu pulled out his phone. “You have Venmo?”

He nodded. “Yeah, why?”

“I’m going to pay you. Yer a tutor, this shouldn’t be free. I also suggest you quit whatever you’re currently doing for work and just tutor. What’s yer Venmo?” He gave Atsumu his username and Atsumu saved it. “Come up with an hourly number and I’ll just pay you each time we finish. If ya don’t, I’ll make up a number and pay you.”

“Are you just doing this because of the thing at the coffee cart?”

“No, I’m not that altruistic, Sakusa. I’m doing it because yer doin’ me a favor and since I’m an idiot it’s going to take up yer time.”

“I’m sure you’re not an idiot.” He muttered into his notepad.

“We’ll see what you say when we reach the next chapter."


	2. Chapter 2

Sakusa and Atsumu met in his dorm each day at 4 pm exactly. Neither of them had class so it fit perfectly. He tutored Atsumu for 2 hours a day and Atsumu sent him $150. He decided on $75/hour because Sakusa was annoying him and not giving him an answer. I figured it would also offset whatever he was losing from quitting his real job. He was in much better spirits when they hung out. His roommate was still a bag of assholes, but they made it work.

  
  


Enomata noticed his grades changing as well. “Atsumu, nice job.” He placed a recent quiz on Atsumu’s desk, face-up, and Atsumu squealed. Enomata shook his head and went to the next student. “When you get your quiz back, you can go. We are done for the day.”

“Thank youuuuu, Enomata!” Atsumu almost hugged the old man.

He finished handing out the quizzes. “You should thank Mr. Sakusa.”

“I’m on my way to do just that!” Atsumu grabbed his bag and took off in search of Sakusa who was, as always, in his room. Atsumu could tell by the soft music coming out of his dorm.

Atsumu knocked repeatedly on the door, not stopping because Atsumu knew Sakusa loved when he did that.

He opened the door, his face masked in pure annoyance. “You know I hate-”

“Ah, Sakusaaaa!” Atsumu leaped at the taller man and hugged him. “Look! Omi, seriously, look!” Atsumu shoved the quiz in his face.

Sakusa blinked and took a step back from the blonde, trying to avoid touching him at all. He took the quiz from Atsumu’s hand and nodded approvingly. “This is awesome. I think we can do better, but this is a great improvement over the quizzes of yours I’ve graded before.”

“I’m not gonna take offense to that because I’m in a great mood. Let’s celebrate!”

“Celebrate? With me?”

Atsumu nodded emphatically. “Of course, this is because of you. I mean, sure, I picked the right answers but I wouldn’t’ve known what they were if it wasn’t for you. Celebrate with me.”

“I don’t really go out-”

“We don’t have to go out. What kind of food do you like?” He was thinking way too hard about that question. “Quick- first food that comes to mind!”

“Umeboshi.”

Atsumu let a beat pass before responding. “Seriously?”

He nodded.

“Okay, something plum flavored it is.” Atsumu glanced at his phone then back at Sakusa. “Like...by itself? Or do you go all out and throw it on a pizza?” He stared at Atsumu. “What?”

“You’re serious?”

“About what?”

“Like...hanging out?”

“Why not?” Atsumu asked, feeling a pang of something uncomfortable again.

He looked away and rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t- I don’t really- Do we have to? I mean, we don’t need to. You should go to celebrate with your friends.”

Atsumu frowned at him. The way Sakusa treated hanging out with Atsumu was something he had never experienced before. Not just because he had a lot of friends, but also because he considered myself to be a pretty good friend. Sakusa had refused to, several times, even leaving Atsumu’s room in a huff when Atsumu told him that he was ordering dinner and Sakusa could stay. Atsumu didn’t know how to react to it but he had to be honest. It was hurting his feelings.

“Why are you so against being friends with me? What’s so wrong with me?” Atsumu snapped at him, grabbed his bag and left the room before Sakusa could answer.

  
  
  


Atsumu bumped into Oikawa and Ennoshita as he was leaving Sakusa’s room.

“Tsumu, babe, how are we today?” Oikawa grinned at him.

Atsumu tried to smile at them. “I’m fine, thanks. I was just leaving.”

Atsumu realized he couldn’t just walk into the room next door because once Oikawa knew where he lived, everyone would. He gripped his bag and headed out of the dorms, ignoring his name being called by Sakusa behind him.

~`~`~`~`~

He found himself pouting in one of the study rooms in the library. Sakusa was right about one thing that had little to do with Abnormal Psych, those rooms were a comfort. Atsumu didn’t realize how much comfort they were until he found himself waking up two hours later, covered in sweat. Something that plagued him his entire life when he was feeling stressed or emotional: he had awful nightmares. Nightmares about absolutely anything.

He heard people talking above him and quietly glanced at his phone. He had taken a two-hour nap and the next group must have come in, the room rental was for an hour and 45 minutes. Atsumu had to decide if he was going to hide down there and pretend to be asleep or if he was going to make his presence known.

Which idea was better? Why did he have to fall asleep under the table?

Atsumu pulled out his phone and decided he’d try to call the most distracting person he knew. Maybe he could show up and make some kind of commotion to clear the room.

Atsumu dialed Oikawa’s number.

Unfortunately, a phone inside the room rang at the same time and Atsumu decided he was just going to die there.

“Ooooh- babe is calling!” Oikawa cheerfully announced as he held up his phone.

“He is  _ not  _ your babe.” That voice sounded painfully familiar.

“Call him babe again and you don’t get to call me babe anymore.” That male voice wasn’t familiar, but that was an interesting revelation. 

Oikawa finally answered. “Yessssss, you lovely specimen you?”

Atsumu rolled his eyes. He was always like this, constantly flirting. “So, this is gonna be awkward, but-”

“Wait, why do I hear you twice?” Oikawa questioned.

Atsumu heard shuffling and sighed. He scooted out from under the table and held his bag in front of his face as some kind of protection. “So, hi. I’m leaving now.”

“Why are you under the table?” Oikawa stood from his chair and towards Atsumu to ruin his reputation and pull his bag down.

“Uh, because I fell asleep?” Atsumu responded as he attempted to yank his bag Oikawa’s masterful grip.

Oikawa slightly narrowed his eyes at Atsumu then suddenly let go of the bag. He let go as Atsumu was pulling so he ended up crashing backward against the wall.

“Owowow- yer such a dickbag, Oikawa!” Atsumu whined as he rubbed his back and his pride. 

“Are you okay?” Sakusa was behind Oikawa asking Atsumu about his damn feelings.

“I’m fine. Thanks and goodbye.” Atsumu shuffled to his feet.

“Miya, wait-” Sakusa tried to follow him out but Atsumu waved him off. His post-nap self was not going to deal with him either. 

~`~`~`~`~`~`

Atsumu decided to stream that night for a few hours. He turned the stream on accidentally, but his viewers had already started piling in so he just left it on while he adjusted his equipment.

“I’m so sorry, guys. I didn’t mean to turn my stream on so early, I wasn’t ready yet. I have a few things to set up then I’ll get started.”

There were positive comments in the chat so Atsumu continued setting up.

For the second time since he’s met him, Sakusa barged into Atsumu’s room. 

“Miya- I wanted to apologize-”

Atsumu’s eyes widened exponentially and he immediately held his hands up to stop Sakusa from moving, speaking, or breathing. He already had the party chat started with his 5 other teammates. 

“Who is that?” Oikawa asked, ever so curious.

“Woah, does the lesser Miya have a boyfriend?” Osamu piped up, ever so annoying.

“Who is that?” Lev repeated, never really listening to all of the conversation. 

“That sounds like the dorms, are you in the dorms?” Daichi observed.

“I KNEW IT!” Oikawa squealed.

Atsumu went back around to his computer and muted the outgoing audio.

“Sakusa- what are you doing?” Atsumu hissed. 

Sakusa was frozen in place in the doorway. Atsumu stomped toward him and pulled him in before everyone in the dorm found out where he lived. “What the hell are you doing?”

“Did they just- Did I just- Am I- Are we-”

Atsumu had zero idea what he was saying so he went back to setting up his equipment. “Don’t you worry yer pretty little head, Kiyoomi, nobody can see or hear ya. My camera is facing my wall and I turned off the audio. They can only see me when I’m over here. What do you want? We don’t have a session set up today.”

Atsumu looked up at him and found himself feeling bad at how terse he was being which was incredibly annoying.  _ He  _ wasn’t the one that was a total dick.

“I just wanted to apologize about what happened earlier. It’s not that I don’t want to be friends with you, I just-”

“You don’t want to be friends with me in public, I got that. Yer fine, you can be my tutor and that’s it. No worries.”

Atsumu desperately hoped his voice wasn’t betraying what he was really feeling because he  _ did  _ feel bad about Sakusa not wanting to be his friend. He felt like absolute shit about it. It was probably childish and dumb, but Atsumu didn’t care.

Sakusa didn’t look like he was about to argue which bothered Atsumu more.

“Fine.” He turned and left.

~`~`~`~`~`

Atsumu streamed for 3 hours before finally calling it quits. He was able to climb up 104 SR points into the 4600 range, which put him in the top 20 of all players. He gave his viewers a goodnight, stretched and went to change.

He pulled on a long t-shirt and kicked off his shorts. He glanced at the clock and yawned when he saw that it was 11:30 pm. He got up at the last minute, seconds from falling asleep, and went to lock his door. As he reached for the lock, someone knocked.

Atsumu pulled the door open cautiously and saw Sakusa standing there with his hands in his pockets.

“Yes?”

“Can I talk to you?”

“Now?”

He nodded.

Atsumu stepped to the side and opened the door. He walked in slowly and seemed to at least notice that Atsumu was about to go to sleep.

“I can come back-”

“Yer already here, Sakusa, what’s up? I’d ask you to sit, but I know that usually makes ya disappear.” Atsumu sat at the top of his bed and pulled a pillow into his lap.

To Atsumu’s surprise he sat on the edge of the bed. “I want to ask you something. I need your help with something.”

“What could you possibly need my help with?”

He seemed nervous. “Uh- the tutoring. I was wondering if you had an idea about advertising it. I wanted to look into it, maybe pick up a couple more paying people.”

“You came over at nearly midnight to discuss marketing strategies?”

He sighed. “No.”

“Then why-”

“There’s this guy that uh… that I like. A lot. I was wondering if you could help me out with him.”

“Okay,” I nodded. “Help you out how? Like advice?”

“Yeah.”

“Who is he?”

“His name is Iizuna.”

“Iizuna...Iizuna… Iizuna from Enomata’s class? The class I’m in?”

“Yes.”

Atsumu knew Iizuna and the younger guy seemed far from Sakusa’s type, but then again Atsumu guessed he didn’t really know Sakusa’s type. Iizuna was a bit of an...eccentric guy, to say the least. He liked to party, he always had a boyfriend, he liked to drink. Kind of the opposite of Sakusa.

“I know what you’re thinking, and yes I realized he’s different than me. I just- I tutor him sometimes and he’s always really nice to me. He’s sweet and pretty, but I- I don’t have any experience with that.”

“ ‘that’ being...dating?” Atsumu blinked at him. “Kei isn’t joking when he keeps saying you need to be devirginized?

Sakusa shook his head and turned away from Atsumu.

“It’s not a big deal. It’s really not.” Atsumu reassured him. He looked Sakusa’s way again. “I can give you whatever advice you need. I haven’t seen anybody in- God, I don’t even know how long it’s been. Shit, I’m in a dry spell. I haven’t had sex in...like 6 months.”

“Well, I haven’t had sex ever.”

“Wait- what exactly are you asking for help with?” The look on his face was Atsumu’s answer. “You want my help with sex?” Atsumu asked the words louder than he meant to.

He winced and ran his hand through his messy curly hair. “Well, yes.”

Atsumu stared at him. “Wait- so, excuse me if I’m being crass, but you’re willin’ to fuck me, you just don’t wanna be my friend.” Atsumu threw the pillow that was in his lap at Sakusa and slid off the bed.

“No, Miya, fuck- I told you it wasn’t like that. I didn’t mean it the way I said it. It was just confusing that a guy like you wanted to be friends with me and it wasn’t just about the tutoring.”

“What does that even mean? A guy like me?”

He rolled his eyes. “Look at you!” He motioned to Atsumu’s entire body. “You know who you are!”

Atsumu shrugged. “I told you, Sakusa, you have a lot of things going for you. I can help you realize that if you really want me to.” Atsumu stepped towards him and stood directly in front of him. 

“Have you kissed someone before?”

He nodded and bit his cheek. “Yes.”

“Have you had a girlfriend or boyfriend?” 

“Yeah, in high school.”

Atsumu stepped between his legs. “But you haven’t had sex?” He shook his head and looked up at Atsumu. “What have you done?”

“Well, I’ve kissed a couple of girls before. Um-” His cheeks reddened. 

“I find the fact that you get embarrassed by saying stuff like this kind of sweet.” Atsumu motioned around his room. “You can talk to me, this is a safe space.”

“I’ve gone down on a girl before.”

“How did that go?”

He blushed deeper. “Uh- um, I don’t- I’m not sure.”

“Well, what happened after?” Atsumu reached out and touched the collar of his jacket.

“She said...thank you. She said she had to go to class.”

“You went down on a girl at school?”

“Yeah.” He smiled sheepishly. “I liked her, but she didn’t talk to me after that. One of my other friends told me she had a bet going with her girlfriends.”

“That’s fuckin’ awful. I’m sorry.”

He shrugged. “It was a long time ago, I’m over it.” 

“I’ll help you, but I don’t think having sex is a good idea. I can help you with everything but the actual act itself.”

He nodded. “Okay.”

“However, it’s late and I have an 8 am class tomorrow. We can meet after our tutoring session.”

“That’s fine.”

Atsumu backed up towards the door and Sakusa followed. He reached for the knob, but Atsumu stopped him. “Step 1, though, kiss me goodnight.”

“Kiss you goodnight?”

Atsumu nodded. 

Sakusa leaned down toward Atsumu, eyes already closed. Atumu tilted his head up, only then realizing that Sakusa had a few inches on him, and put his finger on his lips.

“Wait- keep your eyes closed and listen to me.” Sakusa let a slow breath out through his nose. “A kiss goodnight is a make it or break it to me. In most first date instances, it can be the first kiss yer gonna get. It sets the tone, ya know? It can also be the last time you kiss. Above all, it’s yer last impression for the night. You can’t approach it so fast, you have to be slow and attentive. If I tilt my head towards you, I most likely want to kiss you, but always let the other person initiate.”

Atsumu moved his hand up behind Sakusa’s neck and pulled the taller man toward his mouth. Atsumu whispered to him, inches from Sakusa’s lips.

“Slow and soft. That’s a perfect kiss goodnight, okay?”

Atsumu closed the distance between them and gently pressed his lips against Sakusa’s. His mouth was soft and warm. He didn’t need any damn advice from Atsumu. Atsumu pulled back after a few seconds then kissed him again, softer.

Atsumu reached behind Sakusa and opened the door. “Goodnight, Kiyoomi.”

“Goodnight, Miya. Thank you.” Sakusa power walked back to his room and Atsumu fell asleep in pure confusion at what his life was.

Only a short nightmare that night, though.

~`~`~`~`~`~`

On the first official day of Atsumu giving Sakusa advice, he wanted to know what Atsumu specifically liked. Atsumu tried to tell him over and over again that what he liked didn’t dictate what Iizuna, or anybody else for that matter, was going to like. They got into it anyway and it ended with Atsumu kicking Sakusa out after the blonde got flustered when he showed Sakusa where exactly on his neck the curly-haired brunette should put his mouth.

  
  
  


On the second day, Sakusa wanted condom advice. 

“Is this just about sex or are you looking for a relationship?” Atsumu finally asked as he spread out different types of condoms.

Sakusa looked down at them and shrugged. “I don’t know. It depends on what he wants.”

“Okay, but what do you want? Don’t lie about your intentions, Kiyoomi, don’t go in there just wanting sex and leading him on.”

Atsumu shook his finger at Sakusa and he immediately became defensive. Atsumu rolled his eyes and held up a purple and blue box.

“These are fire and ice condoms.” Atsumu explained. “Never. Ever. Ever. Use them. They sound fun, sure, but it’ll make yer dick taste gross after it’s off and ugh- just don’t.”

Atsumu shuddered as Sakusa listened attentively.

  
  
  


On the third day, Sakusa wanted their shirts off.

Atsumu removed Sakusa’s shirt first and let him know that again, it’s always best to let the other person initiate. Atsumu told the younger male that he had an incredible body so he might as well show it off. Atsumu allowed Sakusa to pull his shirt off, happy that he had started working out again and it was clearly showing but the brunette didn’t seem to notice at all. He looked down at Atsumu’s broad bare chest and swallowed.

Atsumu crossed his arms. “You can compliment me or something, you know? Jeez, Sakusa.” 

He looked Atsumu directly in the eye and said, “You look...nice.”

Atsumu put his palm over his face. “We will work on that.”

“Am I supposed to compliment you?” He asked.

Atsumu glared at him. “Not if you don’t mean it.”

That was when Atsumu realized how one-sided their relationship was. Atsumu definitely had a crush on the taller man and he had no damn idea.

  
  
  


On the fourth day, Atsumu reintroduced him to more foreplay. 

“Just relax.” Atsumu took Sakusa’s hand and led him to his large bed. “Lay down.” He did. “I find that foreplay can sometimes be just as fun as sex. You don’t always have to go all the way.” Atsumu slowly climbed on top of Sakusa and straddled him. “This can be just as fun.”

He moved his hands to rest on the blonde’s thighs. “Is this okay?”

“That’s perfect.” Atsumu murmured as he leaned against the lean body beneath him and ran his fingers through the dark curly hair he had become so fond of.

“It doesn’t always have to be super hot let’s fuck already kind of sex. It can be intimate. I think I speak for all people when I say we like intimacy. Most people, anyway.” Atsumu pressed his lips against Sakusa’s jaw and felt him tense up. “Relax. Yer making me feel bad.”

He relaxed underneath Atsumu and sighed softly. “I’m sorry. I just- I don’t know what to do.”

Atsumu sat up and looked down at him. “Well… whaddya wanna do?”

The darker-haired man ran his fingers lightly across Atsumu’s thighs then up to his hips. He pulled Atsumu’s shirt off slowly and moved one of his hands around to the small of the blonde’s back, pulling Atsumu against him. Sakusa stopped asking if what he was doing was okay because the look on Atsumu’s face told him that it was.

He slid his hands up Atsumu’s broad back and pulled the blonde’s mouth against his.

Sakusa was definitely fine in the kissing department. He massaged Atsumu’s back and kissed him slowly until the man on top felt Sakusa grow hard between his thighs and then suddenly Sakusa had to go because he “had a class” even though it was nearly 8pm.

Atsumu texted Sakusa that they should probably stop after that.

  
  
  


They didn’t meet on the fifth or sixth day.

  
  
  


On the seventh day, Atsumu realized that he needed to stop giving Sakusa ‘advice’ and let him figure out the rest on his own. He came over for some emergency advice after an unsuccessful conversation with Iizuna and they ended up half-naked on his bed. It wasn’t until Sakusa’s hands were sliding Atsumu’s shorts off that he realized he was giving Sakusa advice for more than just his benefit. Atsumu was using it as an excuse to be closer to him. Atsumu was doing to himself what he told him not to do with Iizuna: He was leading  _ himself  _ on. Atsumu stopped it there and let Sakusa know that he would be fine with Iizuna. 

Sakusa insisted on Atsumu explaining why they had to stop and after Atsumu refused to answer, he was met with a blank stare. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> no idea what my update schedule is.
> 
> do yall care? would you prefer to read chapters asap? or would you prefer to have them every other day or something? I never know. i always wait until fics i like are done so i can read it straight through.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is long af, idk why lol. anyways... thank you all who are reading :)))

Another slow month passed, Psych studying being the only interaction between Sakusa and Atsumu, and it was midterm time already. 

Atsumu was literally sweating sitting outside of Enomata’s class waiting for the minutes to pass so he could take that test and get the hell out of there. He and Sakusa had been working together every day. They studied for 2 hours then segued into giving him dating advice for a guy that Atsumu knew wasn’t right for him, but the raven-haired man thought Iizuna was so Atsumu was reluctantly helping. Sakusa kept hinting that he wanted to go further than first base, but Atsumu wasn’t sure what the etiquette was for that. Sakusa was more reluctant toward letting them be friends than he was making out with Atsumu.

Atsumu pushed the thoughts out of his mind as he went over the study guide Sakusa helped him put together. He couldn’t afford to not do well on the midterm and his anxiety was getting the best of him.

“Hey Tsumu!” Atsumu looked up to the smiling face of Oikawa alongside Iwaizumi.

“Hi guys.” He looked back down at his paper and tried to suck in every last letter of information. Atsumu looked up again. “Hi guys.”

Iwa raised his eyebrows. “Uh-”

Oikawa looked down at Atsumu and became increasingly worried. He pulled his phone out and dialed. “Hey- you busy? Can you come to Enomata’s class and fix Tsumu? He looks like he’s about to have a breakdown.” He hung up the phone and looked at Iwaizumi who was also 

looking at the blonde with concern.

“Is he okay?” Iwa asked as he squatted down next to Atsumu.

“He’ll be fine.” Oikawa sat on the other side of Atsumu. “He gets like this around test time. Just give it a few minutes.”

Atsumu couldn’t even hear what they were saying. He didn’t hear anything until a soothing voice calling his name above him. 

“Miya. Come on, get up.”

Atsumu dragged his eyes upward to see Sakusa holding his hand out. “You look like a crazy person.” He muttered as Atsumu finally stood.

Atsumu groaned pathetically, running his fingers through his hair. “Can you be nice for two fuckin’ seconds?”

His eyes darted toward the other side of the hall. “Yeah, sorry- just, look. Listen. You know this. I know you know this because the Sakusa method is all in you now. You know this material, you’re going to pass the hell out of the midterm and that’s all there is to. You don’t need to be so nervous.”

Oikawa let out a laugh. “I always wondered how to fix Tsumu.”

Iwa punched his shoulder. “Shut up, Shittykawa. You aren’t even in this class. Let’s go.”

Atsumu looked up at Sakusa and took a breath. “I can do this.”

He nodded. “You can do this. It’s nothing that we haven’t studied.” He put his hands on Atsumu’s shoulders. “You can do this.”

Atsumu looked up at him and realized that the reason why going further than just  _ telling  _ him what guys enjoyed was a bad idea. Atsumu liked the guy. He  _ really _ liked the guy.

Sakusa’s shoulders dropped and he tensed up when another person joined them. 

“Hey, Omi! Can I get some of that reassurance too?” Iizuna nudged his way in between them.

Since Sakusa and Atsumu had started hanging out, he was more relaxed in general and it made him significantly more approachable. He was even styling his hair, it was cute as hell, his bouncy curls hanging in front of half of his face. He stood with his spine straight and stopped hunching over. He even smiled more.

Atsumu glanced at Iizuna and forced a smile. “Yeah sure, Tsukasa, he’s great at it.”

Sakusa didn’t notice the blonde’s discomfort at all so Atsumu gave him a short wave and went to wait inside the classroom. Atsumu knew he was doing something stupid by liking Sakusa and hopefully, seeing that interaction of theirs would be the end of it for him and him stupid feelings

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`

Atsumu patiently breathed his way through the midterm. He powered through it and took his time, answering the last question as class ended. He took a breath and looked over the pale green and white scantron. 

Atsumu looked up and noticed everyone else had left the classroom.

Enomata was staring at him, unblinking. 

Atsumu smiled sheepishly and got up to give him the scantron. 

“You didn’t even notice that the last student cleared out...45 minutes ago, did you?” He adjusted his glasses and looked up at the tall man.

Atsumu shook his head. “I guess not.”

“How’d you do?” He glanced down at the scantron.

“I did well,” Atsumu said confidently.

He beamed at Atsumu. “Good. I’ll have these graded and on your web advisor by the weekend. Try to relax, Atsumu, go play some games or something.”

Atsumu laughed and marched out of the classroom, his head held high for the first time since day one of that class. Atsumu went straight to tell Sakusa and bumped into Tsukishima down the hall from his room. 

“Going to see Kiyoomi?”

“Yeah, is he in there?”

Yamaguchi giggled. “Yes.”

Kei rolled his eyes. “He’s being devirginized finally. I wouldn’t go in there.”

“What?” Atsumu asked incredulously.

“Yeah, the party boy from that annoying frat. Super loud. Apparently they’ve seen each other a few times and today was finally the day.” He rolled his eyes again and turned around. “See ya later, Miya.”

Atsumu walked past Sakusa’s room and went into his own, not noticing who was in the hallway.

As soon as he closed the door, there was a knock. “Atsumu? What are you doing? Whose room is that?”

Dammit, Oikawa.

Atsumu quickly pulled the door open and yanked him in. Little did he know, he was hanging onto Iwa who was also pulled in.

“No fucking way you live here!” Oikawa dropped his bag and looked around the room.

Atsumu sat on his bed after kicking off his sneakers and sighed. “It’s a long story.” He cleared his throat and watched Oikawa looking around the room. “Listen-”

“I won’t tell anybody, Tsumu. I always wondered why you only came to my place and never let me hang out at yours.”

“I appreciate that.Hey- you two have a lot of friends don’t ya? Like ones I probably wouldn’t know?”

Iwaizumi shrugged. “Yeah, probably.”

“Why? You want a blind date or something?” Oikawa questioned as he glanced at Atsumu’s computer setup.

“That’s exactly what I want.”

They both stared at Atsumu. “Wait, you don’t have a girlfriend?”

“No.”

“Seriously?”

“Yes. I’m also gay.”

“Wait… seriously?” Oikawa repeated. 

“Yes, seriously. I don’t have a boyfriend. I haven’t in a while.” He felt himself blush at their questions.

“What kind of guys do you like?” 

“I don’t know.” Atsumu sat against the wall and thought about it. “I like...smart guys. Tall, I guess-”

“Tall as opposed to? Narrow that down.”

Atsumu threw a pencil at Oikawa and he yelped. “Uh...I don’t like long hair. I like pretty eyes. It’d help if he didn’t oppose my obsessive video gaming. Not that much younger than me, a year younger or older. No smoking. I don’t care if he drinks, but not obsessively, ya know? He can’t be a douchebag, obviously-”

“This is all very basic. I know a few guys.” Oikawa scrolled through his phone. “The team is having a big ass party tonight. You should come, I’ll find you someone.”

Atsumu sat up straight and nodded. “Okay. When? Where?”

“At that frat house of an abode that those idiots call a house.” Iwa muttered, clearly not happy with the idea of a party.

“Are you guys goin’?”

“Whether Iwa-chan likes it or not, yes we are,” Oikawa said happily. He leaned over to kiss Iwa’s cheek and Atsumu snorted as Iwa dodged him completely and shoved Oikawa away.

~`~`~`~`~`~`

Later that night, he pulled garment after garment out of his dresser and closet trying to find something to wear. He finally decided on black shorts that hugged his thighs and a white fitted top. It was a step above his casual wear.

He pulled on his favorite pair of black sneakers and headed for the address Oikawa texted him. 

  
  
  
  


Oikawa greeted Atsumu before he had a chance to see anybody else and shoved a drink in his hand. He happily accepted and downed it. He was nervous and it was annoying.

“Come, come. I have someone for you to meet.” Oikawa looked through the crowd until he found a group by the couch. 

Atsumu leaned over the back of the couch where Oikawa insisted he stand. “Why do I have to stand like this?” 

“Shut up.”

“Oikawa!”

“You’re showing off your assets!” He defended.

“I’m not looking for a fuck buddy, you idiot, I’m looking for-”

He waved the words off. “Yes, yes, I know. A boyfriend.” He clasped his hands together. “Oh, there he is!”

Atsumu turned to see a tall blonde with the same kind of undercut he had staring at Oikawa with a smile on his face. “Hey man!” They hugged and chatted for a minute. The guy  _ was  _ good looking. When he spoke, Atsumu could spot a tongue piercing.

“Who is this?” He asked as he motioned towards Atsumu.

“Oh, shit, I almost forgot!” Atsumu felt his eyebrow twitch. “This is Atsumu. Atsumu, this is Yuuji.”

“Ah, Miya, the streamer guy.”

Atsumu smiled politely as he sighed. “Yeah, I suppose. Or maybe just Atsumu.”

“I hear you’ve flashed people for money before, is that true?”

Atsumu stared at him and wondered if he was serious. He appeared to be. “It was nice to meet you.” Atsumu glared at Oikawa and went elsewhere to mingle around the party.

Atsumu rounded the corner towards the kitchen for a beer when he saw Sakusa leaning against the counter. Even from the back, Atsumu recognized him. He was about to say hi when Sakusa leaned his head back and laughed. Iizuna was sitting on the counter in front of him.

Atsumu quickly grabbed a beer before Sakusa could spot him and disappeared back into the group of people. It was mostly guys, probably 3 guys for every 1 girl that was there. Atsumu didn’t realize how many of the guys seemed to be dating each other. He saw quite a few of them that he recognized. Daichi was hanging all over Kuroo from the volleyball team. Daichi appeared to be drunk and judging by the light blush on Kuroo’s face, he was too. He spotted Yamaguchi fawning over Tsukishima who was pretending not to be loving the attention. Oikawa was drooling over Iwa who was ignoring him while also massaging Oikawa’s back. Atsumu even saw that tiny libero, Noya, cuddled up with a taller bearded guy on the couch.

  
  


The whole scene was making him feel worse.

  
  


Atsumu popped his beer open and went outside where there were far less people.

He sat on one of the lounge chairs under the dim lights they had on the deck in the back and laid back. He was halfway through his beer when he heard the chair creak next to him. The chairs were arranged so they couldn’t see each other, but he could tell someone was there.

“It’s stuffy as fuck in there.” A male voice greeted, popping the cap off of his beer.

“It really is. This house isn’t big enough for this many people.” Atsumu responded.

“What’s your name?” He asked, still not turning to look at the blonde.

Atsumu stretched his legs out and scoffed in a self-deprecating manner. “I really don’t wanna tell you.”

“Ouch.” He laughed and took a long drink of his beer.

“No, it’s not-” Atsumu sighed and finished his own drink. “I’m just kinda tired of what comes after me tellin’ people my name, you know?”

He laughed softly. “I do know.”

“That’s honestly a refreshing response.” 

He let a breath out. “Yeah, I guess.”

Atsumu heard the chair creak again and reveled in his phenomenal conversational skills. He scared the guy off already. He turned to the side as the chair creaked again under the other man’s weight. Atsumu felt something cold against his arm and looked down.

“Want another?” He was offering Atsumu a beer.

“Yeah. Thank you.”

Atsumu took it and tried to twist the cap off. A jingling noise prompted Atsumu to notice the other man was handing over his keys that had a bottle opener attached. Atsumu noticed one of the keychains was the logo for the pro volleyball team that was based out of the area.

“Black Jackals, huh?”

“Hm?” The other man hummed in response. Atsumu handed him his keys back. “Oh, yeah. I used to play.”

“I see what you mean by understanding what I said. You probably have fangirls and fanboys alike.”

His laugh was warm and genuine. “Yeah. A few. Where would I know you from?”

“Depends on how much time you spend on social media.”

“Ah. Influencer?”

Atsumu almost choked on his beer. “Hardly.” He laughed again. “I play video games.”

He hummed. “Miya, I presume?”

“Mhm.” 

His chair creaked again as he stood. He came into Atsumu’s view as he adjusted the chair, scraping it against the wood. It was Shoyo Hinata, that bright orange hair was unmistakable. Hinata rearranged his own lounge chair so they sat oppositely adjacent to each other. He tilted his beer towards Atsumu.

“Cheers, Atsumu.”

“Cheers, Hinata.”

He smiled then looked back up at the sky. Atsumu did the same. They sat there quietly for a while as the party went on inside.

Hinata eventually set his bottle down next to Atsumu and leaned forward. “Did you want another? I just have to run inside.”

Atsumu nodded and gave him a small smile.

He smiled back and winked at Atsumu. “Don’t go anywhere. I’ll be right back.”

  
  
  


A few minutes later, Atsumu spotted Hinata through the sliding glass door fending off some of what were probably his exes fans. A short black-haired girl was desperately clinging to his arm and Atsumu couldn’t help but feel for the guy, he looked incredibly uncomfortable. He finally pointed out another player from the team and she was equally excited to see him.

Atsumu let a laugh escape as Hinata closed the door. 

He looked over at the blonde and sighed. “Tell me you didn’t watch all that.”

“Oh, I did. I kind of wanted to help, but it was like a car crash, ya know? I just had to watch.”

“And to think I brought this out here for us to share-” He held up a 6 pack.

Atsumu gaped at him. “You really just took an entire 6 pack?”

He grinned at Atsumu and shrugged. He popped the cap off of two of them and handed the blonde one. 

Atsumu accepted it and took a drink. “Cheers to that.” 

Hinata leaned toward Atsumu and smacked the top of his bottle with the bottom of his own. He jumped back laughing as it started fizzing all over Atsumu. The blonde looked down in utter horror as beer spilled onto his chest and lap. 

“Oh my- Oh my God!” Atsumu looked up at him with wide angry eyes and Hinata’s smile faded as guilt washed over his features.

“Oh- Shit, Atsumu, sorry. It was just a joke-”

Atsumu immediately turned away and stomped down the stairs toward the pool in a huff. He heard Hinata following. Atsumu spun around to face him as Hinata stepped towards him with a towel.

“I’m really sorry, it was just a joke-”

Atsumu walked towards him and gave him one quick shove straight into the pool. 

Hinata sputtered to the surface and Atsumu squatted next to the edge, laughing. “I’m really sorry, it was jus’a joke.” Atsumu grinned down at him and he laughed loudly.

“It’s cute that you think this is funny.” Hinata planted his elbows on the edge of the water and reached out to grab the taller man’s ankle.

Atsumu unsuccessfully tried to pull it away from him, his grip was stronger than one would think at first glance. “You wouldn’t-”

“You don’t know me yet, but you will. When you do, you won’t question why I did this.” He smiled up at Atsumu and tightened his grip on his ankle. Atsumu tried not to smile at his implication that this wasn’t just a one-night hang out at a party.

“Shoyo Hinata, don’t you dare!” Atsumu shrieked at Hinata as he tried to yank his foot back.

“I’m going to be nice here and tell you to drop your phone and anything else you don’t want to get wet. You’re getting in this water with me, there’s no question about that. Whether or not you ruin some stuff, that’s up to you.” Hinata blinked at Atsumu and waited as the blonde reluctantly dumped his phone and shoes next to the pool.

“Do yer worst-” As Atsumu reached down and pulled his second shoe off, Hinata leaped halfway out of the pool and grabbed his arm. He pulled Atsumu into the water.

Atsumu came up as fast as he could and glared darkly at him. “You have started a war, you know?” He hung on to the edge of the pool for dear life.

Hinata fake shivered. “Oh, I’m so scared of the guy who can’t even touch the bottom of the pool.” 

“It’s 7 feet! You can’t either!” Atsumu splashed him and Hinata ducked away from it, laughing.

“You’re a giant and apparently you can’t even swim-.”

Atsumu’s eyes widened. “Yer-yer-yer just fuckin’ rude-” He couldn’t think of any other single thing to say to him.

Hinata snorted. “Smooth.” His cheeks turned the lightest shade of pink and he bit his lip and looked away from Atsumu. He pulled his shirt off as best as he could in the water.

“Woah- what are you-” 

He handed over the wet fabric and Atsumu stared at him. He kept his gaze on Atsumu’s eyes. “I don’t want to be rude, I just don’t know how else to tell you- I didn’t really pay too much attention earlier because you were pretending to be mad, so this is partially your fault-”

The more he spoke the more Atsumu realized what Hinata was referring to. He held the shirt over his now very see-through white shirt and tried to pull it over his head. The shirt was obviously soaked and Atsumu was also wet and it was not going to happen.

“I can’t- I can’t- oh my FUCK-!”

As Atsumu struggled to pull the shirt on, his feet slipped out from under him and he fell under the water. Atsumu saw his own life flash before his eyes as he realized he was about to drown in a pool trying to stop a cute guy from seeing his chest.


	4. Chapter 4

Hinata managed to pull him up and over toward the edge of the pool.

“I didn’t realize I was that bad of company that you were going to try and drown yourself.” He laughed as he held Atsumu up against the edge.

“I’m sorry that my attempted drowning is offending your ego.” Atsumu finally gave up on trying to cover himself. “This is ridiculous. This is-” He shook his head.

Hinata shrugged, a smile playing on his lips. “This is fun.” 

Atsumu turned towards him. “You’re right. It is.”

“What are you doing here, anyway? I’ve never seen you at one of these before.” He jerked his head toward the house.

“I came with Oikawa. I asked-” Atsumu’s face went hot as he remembered why he came to the party in the first place.

Hinata laughed loudly. “Wait, it’s you? You’re the guy?”

Atsumu turned around and raised an eyebrow. “I’m what guy?” 

He never liked what came after somebody already knowing something about him.

Hinata laughed again and wiped the water off of his face. “Oikawa said he had a friend that was looking for a good time. Iwaizumi insisted that he was looking for an actual relationship, but Oikawa said he needed to, and I quote, ‘be dicked down first’. He said he wanted a few of us to meet you.” He groaned again. “Oh God, did you meet Yuuji?”

“Ah, yes, the one who asked if I flash my viewers for money. He was a joy.” Atsumu recollected bitterly.

Hinata looked sympathetic. “They had a list of who they planned to have you meet.”

Atsumu scoffed. “Of course he did.” Atsumu looked over at the shorter man. “Were you on the list?”

He shook his head. “I wasn’t planning on staying long, so no.”

“Were you escaping onto the deck as well then?”

He smiled sheepishly. “I was until I saw you out there by yourself. I couldn’t see your face without being downright creepy, but I saw your legs and I wanted to talk to whoever those thighs belonged to.”

Atsumu laughed and smiled shyly. “That was pretty smooth.”

“It was, right?” He smiled at himself then his face shifted back into concern when he saw Atsumu shiver. “Let’s get you inside. There’s a back entrance into the house that I can sneak you through.”

He easily lifted himself out of the pool and Atsumu couldn’t help but stare at the muscles in his broad back as they flexed. He was shorter than Atsumu, by not that much. However long ago it was that he played volleyball, not much time had to have passed. Hinata turned back and held his hand out. 

“I don’t mean to sound crazy, but I really don’t want to be seen like this.”

He nudged Atsumu’s shoulder after helping him out of the water. “I don’t either. Follow me.”

He followed Hinata to the side of the house where there was a side entrance that led directly to the stairs. Atsumu’s luck must have changed for the better as the stairs were empty. He led the blonde up the stairs and down the hall to his empty room.

They both dripped into the bathroom and onto his dark rug in front of his shower. He leaned over and turned the water on. 

“You can shower. I’ll find something you can wear. If you drop your clothes in that basket, I can take them down to dry for you. You’ll only have to endure my company for another hour or two.”

He held his hand under the water and nodded. “It’s warmer than that damn pool was.”

Atsumu’s lips curled into a soft smile. “Thank you. I can’t say I’ve ever showered in a strange boy’s house before, but there’s a first time for everything.”

“Well, I can’t say I’ve ever had a guy in my bathroom naked and I wasn’t with him, so I guess you’re right.” He winked at Atsumu and closed the door behind him.

Atsumu rinsed the chlorine out of his hair. He reached for the shampoo on the rack under the showerhead and smelled the citrusy scent. He rinsed the fresh smelling soapy water out of his hair as he heard the door open.

“Hey Miya, uh, two things. Apparently, Daichi is doing laundry, so it’ll just be a little bit before I can throw your stuff in, but there’s a towel.” Hinata said over the water.

“What’s the second thing?”

“Your friend is convinced you’re dead or missing or dead and missing. Should I tell him you left or did you want to console him? He’s drunk and crying on his boyfriend’s shoulder downstairs.”

“Oh sweet Jesus- um, I’ll be out in a sec. I’ll just text him that I left.”

“Cool. There’s a towel here and I mean, I have nothing that will fit you, I think one of my regular t-shirts will be a crop top on you-”

Atsumu poked his head out of the curtain. “Shoyo, if you’re about to make another jab at my height, I will invite Oikawa up here and you’ll regret ever insulting me.”

He held his hands up in defense and closed the door again.

Atsumu pulled on the t-shirt Hinata had left me and pulled his phone out to dismiss the 15 missed calls from Oikawa. Atsumu texted him his whereabouts...kind of.   
  


**Atsumu** : _ Sorry, Kawa, my phone was in the bottom of an Uber. Just got it back. I went home, I was tired from exams. See you tomorrow. _

**Kawa** :  _ tsummu _

**Kawa** :  _ tsumumumumu _

**Kawa** : _ tums plsjasdflklk904 _

**Kawa** :  _ Hi Miya. It’s Iwa. Oikawa is going to sleep now. Thanks for coming, sorry about his shitty taste. I vetoed Yuuji, but he insisted. Next time. Later! _

Atsumu finished drying off his hair and hung up the towel. He pulled the door open slowly and saw Hinata balancing a beer on his stomach as he laid on the floor reading a book.

“What are you doing?” Atsumu looked down at him and tugged at the hem of the shirt that like laundry soap.

Hinata turned a page and finished reading before setting the book down. “Reading and drinking like a real adult.” He grinned at me. “Told you it-”

‘If you say crop top, I will literally step on you. This obviously isn’t yours.” 

He laughed hysterically and sat up. “Here I am, doing nice things like drying your clothes and letting you use my shower-”

“And spilling beer all over my cute outfit and pulling me into a pool.” Atsumu added as he crossed his arms.

Hinata giggled and stood up. A knock on his door interrupted the blonde’s next comment. Hinata pulled it open and saw Daichi on the other side.

“I’m done with the dryer if you need it.” Daichi looked over Hinata and saw Atsumu standing there awkwardly pulling the shirt over his bare legs.

Atsumu waved. “Hi.”

“Hi there.” Daichi was one of the nicer ones, thankfully. He gave Atsumu a small smile and handed Hinata an empty basket. “You just need the dryer right? There’s some stuff in the washer still.”

Hinata nodded. “Yeah, thanks, Daichi!” He closed the door and threw their clothes into the small basket. “I’ll be right back. Don’t go anywhere.”

Atsumu sat on his bed. “I’ll just be here going through your stuff.” Atsumu grinned at him as he reached into his nightstand drawer. 

He blinked at me and shook his head. “Well, it’s your funeral.” Hinata winked and left.

Atsumu snorted and leaned back against his pillows. He glanced at his phone and it was almost midnight. The weight of the day decided to bear down on him as he curled up on Hinata’s bed. Atsumu didn’t even hear Hinata come in. 

~`~`~`~`~`

Atsumu yawned the next morning as he stretched his arms out. His bed felt strangely warm, so much warmer than it usually was. He pulled the comforter up to his shoulders and breathed in the intoxicating scent from the blanket.

Atsumu slowly realized he was in fact not in his room. He bolted up suddenly and looked around. He heard light snoring and looked over to see Hinata sleeping soundly on the floor. He was stretched out, using the smallest pillow Atsumu had ever seen.

Atsumu tiptoed off of the bed and nudged Hinata’s arm with his foot. He stirred slightly, so Atsumu nudged him again. He slowly opened his eyes and looked up at Atsumu.

“Hey.”

“Please get on yer bed,” Atsumu pleaded softly. He reached down and grabbed the shorter man’s hand, attempting to drag him. “Get on yer bedddd!” Atsumu whined.

He smirked at Atsumu. “Already trying to sleep with me?”

Atsumu rolled his eyes and let Hinata’s hand drop. “Yer an idiot. Get on yer bed. Let me get out of yer hair. I didn’t mean to fall asleep.”

He sat up and shrugged one shoulder. “It’s alright. I was just down here doing 200 push-ups when I fell asleep too.”

Atsumu snorted and rolled his lips between his teeth to keep from smiling. He jerked his head toward Hinata’s desk. “And where did nicely foldin’ my underwear come in to play there?”

Hinata yawned and looked so damn cute when he did.

“I’m a gentleman, what can I say? Also that was Kuroo I think. He and Daichi do drunk laundry together. Have sex on the washer and all that.” He stumbled to his feet after giving Atsumu intimate details of his roommate's drunk rendezvous. “Are you really headed out this early?” He looked concerned.

Atsumu smiled through his own yawn. “Yeah, I should sleep in my own bed.” Atsumu pulled his shorts and boxers on in one fell swoop. Hinata had politely turned around beforehand.

“You can keep the shirt.” He offered. “You can return it sometime. I did your laundry, it’s only fair that you do mine.” He grinned sleepily.

Atsumu laughed and nodded. “Fine.” The blonde watched Hinata flop down onto his bed and squeeze his pillow. “Don’t miss me too much.” 

“I already put my number in your phone while you were taking up my entire bed.” Hinata yawned again, closing his eyes. “You don’t  _ have  _ to use it, but I would like you to.”

Atsumu grabbed his own shirt and shoes and waved at him, but Hinata was already asleep. 

  
  
  


Atsumu pulled his shoes on after walking down the stairs as quietly as possible. As he reached the front door he remembered that he originally came with Oikawa and he was going to need to call for a ride home.

“Need a ride?”

A deep voice popped up behind him and Atsumu spun around.

“Omi?”

He held his keys up. “Need a ride?” He repeated. 

Atsumu nodded hesitantly and looked behind him. “Yeah, but aren’t ya waiting for Iizuna?” 

He shook his head and unlocked his car. “I took him home last night.”

Atsumu got into his car. “And you came back?”

“Yeah, I thought you might need a ride. I saw Oikawa leave last night.”

“Ya hung around here because you thought I might need a ride?” Atsumu side eyed the dark-haired driver.

“Yeah, it wasn’t a big deal. I was planning on staying anyway, we usually play video games until it’s late.” Sakusa explained. Where’d you sleep?” 

“Upstairs.”

“With who?”

“You assume I slept with someone?” Atsumu retorted with a stifled eye roll.

He kept his eyes on the road as they turned the corner to the dorms. “I saw you talking to Yuuji, just figured you did.”

“You saw me jus’ talking to someone and figured I went up and fucked ‘em?” Atsumu stared at Sakusa in disbelief.

Sakusa shrugged nonchalantly and Atsumu stopped responding. He jumped out of the car as soon as Sakusa stopped and didn’t bother waiting for him. The taller man jogged to keep up with Atsumu and stayed right behind him until they got to his door.

“Thanks, see ya later.”

“Miya- wait.” He put his hand on the doorframe.

“What?”

“I didn’t mean to be rude or anything, I was just checking to see if you were safe.”

“I was perfectly safe. I hung out with the nicest guy I’ve met in quite some time. I slept in his bed and he slept on the floor. It wasn’t Yuuji.”

He narrowed his eyes at Atsumu. “Who was-”

“Why does it matter? Yer with Iizuna, does it really matter who I’m with?” Atsumu asked, his hand on his hip.

“I guess not.”

“Then drop it, Kiyoomi. Thanks for the ride and the mildly insulting concern, but I’m fine.” Atsumu gave him a wave and closed the door.

_ What the fuck? _

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`

Atsumu went for a run the next evening to clear his head. He stretched his legs out after the first mile and took a swig from his water bottle. He jogged another 5 miles before taking a break. He sprawled out on the grass in the quad, his chest heaving with deep breaths. He looked up at the sky and sighed.

Fuck, he was tired.

Atsumu sat up and kicked his shoes off. His feet hurt. 

Atsumu stretched his back and realized that hurt too.

He brought his knees up to his chest and hung his arms over them.

Atsumu pulled his phone out and looked for Hinata’s number. It was not under Hinata or Shoyo. Atsumu glared eyes at the small piece of technology phone. Did he really lie about that? Atsumu scrolled through his contacts and snorted when he finally found it. It was under “You Left Blonde Hair In My Shower”. Atsumu thought about dialing the number but eventually shoved the phone back into his pocket instead.

Atsumu wondered if Hinata saved his number.

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`

That Saturday, Atsumu was sitting in front of his PC, an hour into a really successful stream, when he decided to take a break. 

“Let’s do some song requests or somethin’,” Atsumu suggested to the screen.

“Let’s not. I don’t feel like hearing you sing. Unless you want me to sing. Oh yes, let’s do that. I want to sing!” Oikawa started scrolling through songs.

“Let’s get someone else on cam until Kenma comes back. We need a placeholder.” Ennoshita looked through the active viewers. “How about...Hairy Shower? What kind of name is that?”

Atsumu laughed out loud at the name. “Definitely that one.”

Hinata’s brightly smiling face popped up on their screen moments later.

“Shoyo Hinata! What the hell are you doing here?” Oikawa asked.

“I’m here to ask Tsumu on a date.” He grinned at the camera.

Atsumu proceeded to choke on the water he was drinking and desperately swat the camera away.

“Holy shit, you killed him.” Ennoshita exclaimed.

Oikawa was laughing wildly.

“Am I an only child now? Did my dreams jus’ come true?” Osamu added.

“Let him speak!” Daichi insisted. 

Atsumu took a deep breath, fanned his face, and fixed the camera. “M’sorry. Thought I saw a spider.”

“You know he’s lying!” Oikawa laughed.

Atsumu closed his eyes and shook his head. “Where were we?”

“Shoyo was trying to ask you out, you choked on your water and freaked out. That’s where we were.” Suna added helpfully.

“I love when you speak, Suna.” Oikawa cheered. “So much.”

Hinata smiled unabashedly and it made Atsumu melt. “So...can I take you out sometime?” 

There was a flurry of emotions in the chat as they all debated what Atsumu should say. 

“Yes.” Atsumu finally blurted out. He took a deep steadying breath. “Yeah,” He answered more confidently.

“Kenma is back.” Suna pointed out.

“Good, someone needs to cover his DPS while he plays like shit because he can’t stop blushing over that tangerine,” Oikawa chimed in.

“If you weren’t such a good shield tank, ya know we wouldn’t even be friends, right?” Atsumu told him.

“That’s offensive, Atsumu. Just because you’re in need of orgasms doesn’t mean-”

“Alright, game is startin’, please get Oikawa comm banned.” Atsumu grinned at the screen and moved Hinata to his second screen. He minimized everyone else’s camera’s and kept Hinata’s visible. 

What?

He couldn’t help himself.

~`~`~`~`~`~`

A few good wins and one nasty loss later, they all called it a night. He switched his stream off for public viewing and set it to a one on one call.

“Hi, you. Feels like it’s been forever.” 

Atsumu laughed. “It’s been like two days. Yer needy.”

He sighed and nodded, making his eyes wide. “You have no idea.”

“So this date...when should I be expecting ya?”

“When are you free?”

Atsumu pretended to look at his calendar. “Ummm...I can pencil you in-” The blonde squinted at the digital dates. “Literally any time ever.”

Hinata’s smile somehow widened before he responded. “Good because I’d like to take you out tomorrow. My buddy and his boyfriend are going to a movie and I thought it’d be a nice chance for a double date. I figured you’d be more comfortable to start out like that.”

“I appreciate you taking my comfort into consideration. That sounds fun. What time?”

“At 5.” He leaned over his desk. “I promise you won’t get covered in beer or water this time.”

“I can’t promise you won’t.” Atsumu winked at the camera.

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`

Atsumu was stuffing his phone into his bag around 4:30 the next day as he checked himsef out in the mirror. He went simple, a pair of dark jeans and a red long sleeved. He gelled his hair back slightly. I pulled on a pair of white sneakers and decided it was good enough.

He was locking his door when Sakusa came out of his room at the same time. The two hadn’t spoken since he gave me a ride home.

“Hey, Miya.” He stopped to gawk at the blonde’s outfit. “Where are you headed?”

“On a date,” Atsumu responded coolly. “You?”

“Same.” He jerked his head to the side and the blonde noticed Iizuna exiting the room next, smoothing his hair and shirt out. They really couldn’t be anymore more obvious.

“Oh, hey Miya!” He reached out to hug the blonde as if they were actually friends and spoke more than a half dozen times throughout an entire semester. He squeezed Atsumu as the latter stared at Sakusa.

“I just wanted to say thank you for introducing me to Kiyo!” Iizuna reached for Sakusa’s hand and wrapped both of his own hands around it.

“Of course.”

“It’s funny, I thought the two of you were dating!” He laughed.

“Nope. He was only ever interested in you.”

Atsumu turned away after seeing the flash of hurt pass across Sakusa’s face. Atsumu wasn’t lying, Sakusa at least made that much clear.

  
  
  


Atsumu had nearly reached the front lot when he realized they were still behind him. He groaned silently and pulled out his phone after feeling it vibrate.

**Shoyo** : Black Jeep.

Atsumu looked up and spotted Hinata leaning against the side of his Jeep, staring at his phone. He looked incredible in such simple clothes, relaxed blue jeans, and a fitted black shirt. His skin was permanently tanned from days of beach volleyball that Hinata still spoke about fondly.

He looked up as Atsumu approached, his mouth breaking into a wide smile. “Hey.”

Atsumu, the teenager that he felt like around Hinata, blushed and smiled back. “Hi.”

“Oh, hey guys, did you all walk out together?” Hinata said to Sakusa and Iizuna who stopped behind Atsumu.

Atsumu turned and finally realized what was happening. “Wait- your friend is Sakusa?”

Hinata nodded. “Yeah, we used to play together. Do you guys know each other?”

“He jus’ tutored me,” The blonde responded.

Iizuna smirked and fluttered his eyelashes at Hinata and Atsumu couldn’t help but get annoyed. 

“Hi, I’m Tsukasa.”

Hinata didn’t acknowledge the flirting with anything more than responding with his name. He pulled open the passenger door and offered Atsumu his hand.

“After you.” 

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`

They shuffled into the theatre and headed straight for the snack line.

“I feel like what you order at the movie theatre is going to tell me a lot about you.” Atsumu glanced at Hinata who was studying the taller man with a hand on his chin “Is he classic, like popcorn? Is he loud, like boxed Reese’s, is he needy like a slushie or is he perfect like nachos?”

“Is this just you tellin’ me that you want nachos?” Atsumu asked as they moved up in line.

He shrugged. “It could be. It could be me telling you I want to know you.”

“I guess yer gonna have to figure me out based on what I get.” Atsumu stepped up to order and made him wait behind. 

“Holy shit- I mean. Woah. You’re TsumZoom!” 

Atsumu raised both eyebrows at the teenager's comment. “TsumZoom? I haven’t had that username since like...season 4.”

He blushed wildly. “I’ve been a fan for a while. It’s really cool to meet you.” He glanced around. “Can I get a picture with you?”

Atsumu smiled and laughed. “Sure.” He waved Hinata over. “Take a picture of us, Sho. I don’t want him to get in trouble.” 

The teen handed Hinata his phone and Hinata chuckled as he took the picture, shaking his head the entire time.

“Now go back, you can’t see what I order.” Atsumu chided playfully.

Atsumu looked back up the digital screen displaying all the wonders that were movie theatre snacks. “Can I get... a small cherry slushee, two boxes of candy: the peanut M&M’s and the gummy worms. Umm- a medium popcorn and oh! Are those Dibs? Definitely some dibs.” 

The teenager behind the counter gathered his obscene order and Atsumu turned to face Hinata.

“I don’t know what to make of that. Other than an appointment for your dentist.”

Atsumu flashed his teeth at him. “I brush my teeth three times a day, thank you!” Hinata reached for his popcorn. “Oh, no, sir. None of this is for you.” Atsumu winked at him and he laughed. “Kiddin’, kiddin’. You can have a handful.”

“It’s your turn to order, Shoyo!” Iizun said, ruining Atsumu’s fun.

He got his nachos and a matching icee. 

“Perfect and needy. I can see that.” 

His cheeks turned pink and he pointed at the door. “Let’s go, ya giant.” 

Sakusa and Iizuna filed in behind them and the blonde somehow ended up sitting next to Sakusa with Hinata on his left. He ignored the seating arrangements in favor of spreading his snacks out of the recliner and looking down at them in pure delight. 

“Can’t decide what to stuff your face with first?”

“No. No, I can’t. I kind of want nachos.” Atsumu plucked a cheese-covered tortilla chip out of Hinata’s lap, much to the amusement of the other.

“I kind of want M&M’s so get to opening, blondie.” 

“What flavor icee did you get?” Atsumu peered at his cup.

“Cherry, the only good one.” 

Atsumu widened his eyes at Hinata. “A man after my own heart, honestly.” 

He grinned and accepted a handful of M&M’s.

“So how long have you two been dating?” Iizuna asked as he took a handful of Sakusa’s popcorn.

Hinata glanced at Atsumu. “Yes, how long have we been dating?”

The blonde snorted. “Counting today? A day.”

Hinata reached for Atsumu’s popcorn.”What about you two? I was wondering where Sakusa kept disappearing to.”

“Not long-” Sakusa started.

“We’ve been talking for a few weeks, but officially dating- um, not that long I guess.”

“A few  _ weeks _ ?” Atsumu took a moment to stare at Sakusa who didn’t look back at the other man.

“Yeah! Do you remember when Enomata suggested you talk to Sakusa for tutoring? I ended up going to him too. We tutored a few times a week, usually around 2:30 pm or so. He said he had another guy that he tutored right after me.”

Atsumu scoffed. “Makes sense. He’s a busy guy. I’m surprised he even had time to tutor me.” Atsumu settled back into his seat.

  
  
  


Halfway through the movie, Atsumu was down to a box of gummy worms.

Hinata lifted the armrest between them and patted his shoulder. “You’re going to need the space, you’re definitely sugar crashing before this is over.” He whispered to Atsumu.

Atsumu scowled at him in the darkness. “I will not-”

“If there’s anything I’ve learned about you in the short amount of time we have had together, it’s that you fall asleep in seconds. Just wait.”

Atsumu flicked his shoulder. Hinata helped him finish off the gummy worms and 20 minutes later the blonde’s eyes felt heavy. 

~`~`~`~`~`~`

“Told you so.”

Atsumu opened his eyes to the words being whispered lightly in his ear. He lifted his head up off of Hinata’s chest and blinked around the emptying theater.

Atsumu looked up at him, blearily rubbing his eyes. “Do not judge me.”

“I won’t.” He brushed Atsumu’s fall hair out of his face and smiled softly. “Promise.” He then looked at Atsumu’s head. “Why are you so sweaty?”

“Oh can it, Shoyo!”

“Aren’t they the cutest?” Iizuna jerked his head toward the couple as he squeezed Sakusa’s arm.

He nodded shortly in response and stood up. “There’s a new ramen spot he’s been wanting to check out if you guys want to go.”

Hinata glanced at his watch. “I’d love to, man, but I had a deadline tonight, I need to go over some plays that I was tasked with from my old team.”

“You do?” Atsumu asked as he realized he knew nothing about Hinata. 

“Did you guys skip the get to know each other phase and jump straight to the sex?” Iizuna asked, laughing.

Atsumu’s jaw dropped at the invasive question. “We aren’t-”

“We aren’t having sex. We met a week ago, Tsukasa. I don’t move that fast and I doubt he does either.” Hinata interrupted. He stood and held his hand out, glancing at Sakusa and Iizuna. “I’d love to drop you off, though. Unless you were planning to go with them.”

Atsumu shook his head. “No, no. I’ll go with you.”

The group exited the theatre and gathered outside. 

“Are you two having sex?” Hinata questioned suddenly.

Iizuna nodded enthusiastically and Sakusa looked away. Atsumu raised his eyebrows at them and blinked at Sakusa. He really thought Tsukishima and Yamaguchi were joking the day he went to find Sakusa after his midterm. 

“Well, congratulations.”

He blushed and Iizuna smiled wider than anybody ever should. Atsumu came to terms with the fact that he had no idea why Sakusa came to him in the first place. Especially after once he started talking to Iizuna, why did he continue coming to Atsumu for  _ advice _ ? Thinking about it was aggravating. 

Atsumu pushed it out of his head and reached for Hinata’s hand as they walked to his Jeep. Hinata squeezed Atsumu’s hand and gave the blonde a soft smile, something Atsumu was growing overly attached to.

“Would it be weird if I asked to come over to yer place?”

“Am I growing on you, Tsumu?” Hinata asked jokingly as he stopped and stood in front of Atsumu, looking up at him.

Atsumu shrugged. “A li’l bit.”

He scoffed and shrugged back at me. “I mean, sure you can, but I have a lot of work to do so I’m not sure how available I’ll be. You might have to hang out with my roommates.”

“That’s fine. Just for a little bit.”

“You have all that pent up energy now that you power napped, don’t you?”

Atsumu pushed his shoulder. “I do not!”

“I bet you can’t even tell me what the movie was about.” He grinned at Atsumu.

“I- it was- I-” Atsumu could not tell him what the movie was about.

“Do you even know the name of it?” His grin turned into a smirk.

“I have zero ideas what the name of the movie was,” The taller man admitted. “I came for the snacks.”

He laughed, warm and bright. “Let’s go. I’ll even buy you dinner.” He winked at Atsumu and went around to the other side of his unnecessarily tall vehicle.

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

“Why do ya have roommates, by the way?” Atsumu asked as they walked towards his front door.

He thought about it for a moment before answering. “I don’t know. We all roomed together in college, so it seemed easier to just stay together. Every now and then someone gets a boyfriend or girlfriend and leaves, but they come back if it doesn’t work out. Daichi is well on his way out, he has Kuroo who teaches Science at the high school down the street. I’m surprised he’s still here.”

“Who else lives here?” 

Hinata pulled the door open and he got his answer. Atsumu froze in place as he stared at the scene in front of him, immediately feeling like he was interrupting something. 

There was a brown-haired guy laying on the couch with a gray-haired guy clinging to his hips. They were directing a guy (one that Atsumu recognized as the setter from the schools volleyball team as well as Hinata’s old teammate) on from what Atusmu could tell, how to take a proper dick pic. Kageyama’s leg was propped up on the edge of the couch as the brown-haired guy rolled his eyes. He seemed to be along for the ride and the gray-haired guy was directing.

“Oh, Jesus guys, come on!” Hinata threw his hand over Atsumu’s eyes but it was too late.

“Hey Shoyo! Who-” Kageyama greeted. “Oh! We have a visitor!”


	5. Chapter 5

The brown-haired boy shoved the other guy off of him and the bigger man clattered to the floor.

“AKAAAAAASHI! What was that for?” 

“For dragging me into this, Bokuto. I did not come over to tell Kageyama how to send pictures of his junk to everyone he knows.” Akaashi explained. 

Hinata’s hand lowered from Atsumu’s eyes and he waited before opening them.

“It’s okay, you can look. I’m decent now.”

“Uh- is he? Decent?” Atsumu tugged on Hinata’s sleeve.

He sighed. “Yes. As decent as he’s going to get.”

Kageyama smirked. “I’m just showing him what he’s in for.”

Atsumu opened his eyes and Kageyama was standing in front of him in tight leopard print briefs.

Hinata sighed again and rubbed his eyes. “Tobio and Bokuto also live here. Akaashi basically does with how much he’s actually here. It’s the 4 but also 5 of us.”

“Hey, hey, hey! I see we are entering through the front door this time.” Bokuto grinned slyly at Atumu and he felt his face immediately heat up. “Oh, you don’t need to explain, we all saw you sneak out in the morning as well.”

Atsumu buried his face in his hands. “I had to go to class.”

“Suuuuuuure. Thank me anytime for sending my boy Sakusa out to rescue you from the walk of shame back to your dorm.” Bokuto smiled widely.

“Thank you.” Atsumu pushed the words out and Bokuto beamed at the blonde.

“Don’t give in to Bokuto, he will only bother you more,” Akaashi said as he turned the TV on.

Bokuto looked at Akaashi with the saddest eyes Atsumu had ever seen and there was no way he was not about to spend the rest of the day pumping up his ego.

Hinata tried to stop Atsumu as he saw the blonde watch Bokuto deflate, but he was way too late.

“Bokuto, right?” His eyebrows perked up slightly, though his face stayed mopey. “I’ve heard of you before, you’re one of the top spikers in the country, aren’t you? Can you show me some volleyball stuff? Hinata here is going to be busy.”

As the words flew out of his mouth, Atsumu noticed both Hinata and Akaashi waving their hands wildly to stop him, but the blonde couldn’t help it! Bokuto was smiling more and more with each word.

“Oh fuck-” Akaashi groaned.

Kageyama sprinted out of the room.

Hinata followed him.

“Yes.” Was what Bokuto responded with.

  
  
  


Atsumu was absolutely regretting everything he said to Bokuto 2 very long hours later. It was the middle of the damn night and he was exhausted. Atsumu was an athletic guy by nature. He worked out, he liked to run, he used to play football in high school: but Bokuto made him feel so out of shape he might as well be on his deathbed. 

“Bokuto-” Atsumu groaned from the grass.

“Okay, so if you put your hands like this, you can-” He was still standing next to their net.

“Bokuto- please-” Atsumu whined louder as he started to think of escape routes.

“You can jump at just the right angle and it’ll be a perfect jump serve-” He wasn’t even looking at Atsumu anymore.

“Holy shit, did you kill him?”

Atsumu turned from his spot on the ground and squinted to see Akaashi standing there glowering at Bokuto. “BOKUTO! LET HIM REST!”

Bokuto looked Atsumu’s way and realized the blonde hadn’t been standing for at least 15 minutes. “Oh, I didn’t realize he was tired.”

“Who practices like that for so long? Is it tomorrow? I don’t even know where I am.” Atsumu looked up at the sky and prayed for a quick death.

“Bokuto, what did you do to him?” Akaashi squatted down next to the man squirming on their back lawn, the noises of a dying animal escaping from his mouth..

“Nothing! We were just practicing!” Bokuto defended himself.

Atsumu groaned as he felt bad all over again. He really was just practicing. He was showing Atsumu so many things, more things that he’d ever be able to retain, but he was just so into it that the blonde didn't have the heart to tell Bokuto that he was tired.

“Look at him- his eyes are glazed over. Go get Shoyo. His boyfriend is broken.”

Atsumu tried to sit up to protest, but Akaashi was right. He was dead.

“Don’t get him- it’s fine. I’ll sleep here. Leave me here to die.”

Akaashi snorted and shook his head. “You’ll learn about Bokuto if you hang around here enough. He’s never-ending.”

“That was- that was more than never-ending. That was my life flashing before my eyes when he told me to block him. Why did I agree to that?”

“You agreed to it for the same reason I agree to do anything with Bokuto. It’s because of that cute fucking face.” He said the last part quietly. “Just don’t tell him I said that.”

Atsumu heard steps and looked at the door again.

“I told them to leave me here to die.”

Hinata cackled. He took Akaashi’s spot next to Atsumu and leaned over. “Come on.” He pushed his hands under Atsumu’s arms and lifted me. “Let’s go, princess.”

“Uggghh- my arms and my thighs and my calves and my back and my butt hurt.”

“I feel that. I’ve been there.” He tightened his grip around Atsumu’s torso and half carried the bigger man up the stairs. 

“Did you want to sleep here tonight?” Hinata led Atsumu to the bed and looked at him. He seemed nervous as he lightly scratched the back of his neck.

“If that’s okay with you. I wasn’t planning on staying so late, but I can find a way home-”

“No, no. You should stay.” He grabbed one of the pillows and tossed it on the floor.

“Um, no. If I’m staying, either I’m sleeping on the couch downstairs or you’re sleeping on this bed.” Atsumu wagged his finger at the pillow.

“I can sleep on the couch-”

“That’s not what I said.” Atsumu crossed his arms defiantly. “Seeing as I’m probably not going to make it down the stairs without dying, I guess you’re stuck sleeping in the bed.” 

His eyebrows pushed together as he looked at the blonde on his bed. “Alright. I’ll sleep in the bed.” He glanced at Atsumu clothes. “Do you want something to sleep in? You can start your very own shirt collection. I even stretched a new one out for you.”

Atsumu laughed and nodded. “Yes, please. I would love another Hinata original.”

He dug in his dresser and pulled out a t-shirt. “Let me grab you a toothbrush, I’m sure there’s an extra one lying around and I don’t want to deal with your post-movie-theatre-binge-breath.”

Atsumu sighed loudly and dramatically. “I do not have movie-theatre-binge-breath and one day you’re really going to regret making fun of me.” 

  
  
  


Atsumu brushed his teeth, washed his face, and changed into Hinata’s stretched out and somehow fitting t-shirt. He went back into Hinata’s room, but it was empty. Atsumu flopped onto his bed and rolled toward the wall. He yawned quietly and pushed his face into the pillow.

Atsumu heard the door creak open, the light switched off and then he could feel the orange-haired man standing next to the bed. Atsumu looked up at him and patted the bed.

“C’mon, Shoyo, I don’t bite.”

He snorted and pulled the comforter back. “Sure you don’t.”

“I should have warned you before, I’m a wild sleeper.”

“Why doesn’t that surprise me?” He smiled in the darkness and stretched his arm out. He turned to face Atsumu. “I’m a cuddler, so I probably should have warned you as well.”

Atsumu turned towards him as well. “Really?”

He nodded and closed his eyes. “Better beware.”

Atsumu yawned again and fell asleep in minutes.

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`

Atsumu woke up in a sweat a few hours later. 

He tried to stay quiet as he desperately gasped for breath. He squeezed his eyes shut and clutched his chest.

The nightmares he had were inconsistent. They were always awful and he couldn’t remember anything when he woke up. He could only try and breathe through it, he was usually successful. However, lying next to Hinata reminded me why he hadn’t slept next to someone in so long. Atsumu’s chest hurt and he had to struggle over the shorter man to get off the bed.

“Hey- are you-” Hinata stirred awake and helped Atsumu climb over him.

“Yes- I’m sorry. I’m fine-” Atsumu gasped out in jagged breaths.

Hinata let go of the blonde as his feet hit the floor and he stumbled toward the bathroom. “Wait- you’re crying. Tsumu, what’s happening?”

Atsumu pushed the door shut and leaned over the sink. He turned the faucet on and coughed to keep from dry heaving. He leaned against the door and thumped his head back against it. Atsumu clutched his chest and took deep breaths. 

“Atsumu,” He heard Hinata’s soft voice outside the door. 

“It’s- it’s okay- go back to sleep. Please.”

Atsumu forced the words out and closed his eyes. He pushed his palm against his chest and tried to slow his heart rate to match his breathing. Atsumu didn’t even realize he was crying. He wiped his face and got up to splash cold water on his flushed features. Atsumu took more deep breaths and looked in the mirror. Even in the dark, he could see his hands shaking as he dried them. He took another slow jagged breath and glanced at the random clock Hinata had above his mirror. He had already been in there for half an hour.

Atsumu smoothed his hair down and stepped back into the room. He almost tripped over Hinata as he stepped forward.

“Ah- jeez, fuck- I’m sorry.” The shorter man was half asleep on the floor outside of his bathroom, leaned up against the wall. Atsumu looked down at him and he offered a small smile. “What are you doing?”

Hinata looked up at the blonde sleepily, his eyes heavily hooded. He looked so cute like that. “Trying to get you back into my bed.”

Atsumu was slightly shocked. He was expecting question after question, but Hinata didn’t look all that concerned about the blonde’s crazy behavior, mostly curious. Atsumu simply nodded.

He stood up, took Atsumu’s hand and led him back to his bed. He nodded towards the bed, yawning and rubbing his eyes. He scooted back toward the wall and stretched his arm out.

“Come here.”

The slightest of smiles stretched across the blonde’s lips at his sleepy demand. He laid his back against Hintata’s warm toned chest, his head resting on his bicep. Hinata’s other arm stretched across Atsumu and wrapped around his stomach. He really did like to cuddle.

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

Atsumu woke up significantly easier that morning. He rubbed his eyes and felt Hinata moving behind him.

“Are you finally awake? My arm is asleep- move!” He nudged Atsumu’s head off of his arm and the blonde rolled over onto his stomach.

“So your cuddling has a limit?” Atsumu laughed into his pillow.

“No, but my blood supply does.” Hinata responded as he smirked. He looked at Atsumuand raised an eyebrow. “I am getting the feeling that you have no interest in telling me what happened last night, but I’m going to ask just in case I’m reading you wrong. Did you want to talk about it?”

Atsumu rolled onto his back and looked at his ceiling. “I mean-” Atsumu sighed. “I don’t know.” 

“You don’t have to. I was just- I was worried.”

Atsumu moved onto his side and looked at Hinata. “I have nightmares.” Atsumu admitted quietly. He nodded. “I don’t ever remember them. There’s been so many. They come out of nowhere. They come when I’m stressed or overly emotional or just, I don’t know- experiencing something new, apparently.” He nodded and kept listening. 

Atsumu sighed and closed his eyes. “They suck.”

“Hm.” He hummed. Atsumu felt the other man’s hand brush across his head, pushing his hair back and off of his neck. “Thank you for telling me.”

Atsumu smiled slightly and opened his eyes. 

“Let me make you breakfast.” 

His golden eyes lit up. “There’s no earth where I say no to that.” He swung his leg over Atsumu and slid off the bed. “You can cook?”

He nodded. “Yeah, because nobody else can.” He leaned over me and put his palm against Atsumu’s cheek. “You’re pretty in the morning, do you get up before me?”

Atsumu laughed and shook his head. “You’re cute when you sleep.”

He smirked at Atsumu. “I know.” He leaned over and pressed his lips against the blonde’s temple. “Come down when you’re ready, there’s towels if you want to shower.”

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

Atsumu moved downstairs 20 minutes later after successfully showering. He walked past Bokuto who was gaping at his collarbone.

“What the hell happened there?” Bokuto asked, pointing with the knife he was using to cut tomatoes. Atsumu had noticed it in the mirror. He had a circular volleyball shaped bruise underneath his collarbone.

Akaashi looked over and winced. “What do you think happens when you spike a ball at someone who has never played volleyball, Bokuto?”

Hinata turned from the stove and narrowed his eyes at the mark then turned to glare at Bokuto. “You marked her.”

Bokuto stepped away from the two other men. “I was just teaching him how to play. How’d you not notice that last night? We all heard you having sex.”

Atsumu immediately shook his head. “No, we didn’t- we didn’t- we went to sleep!”

Hinata nodded and turned back to the stove. “He fell asleep in the 5 minutes it took me to brush my teeth and get ready for bed.”

Another voice filled the kitchen behind them. “Sorry! That was us.”

Atsumu turned and saw Daichi with who he assumed to be his boyfriend, Kuroo. Daichi was blushing and Kuroo was grinning. Bokuto nodded in approval. Akaashi rolled his eyes. 

“He’s finally doing it! Daichi is finally moving out of this fake frat house.” Kuroo announced happily.

Bokuto started clapping excitedly. “Finally! Now Akaashi can move in!”

Akaashi coughed and shook his head. “That was not what was stopping me from moving in here.”

Bokuto frowned and grumbled as he started cutting tomatoes again.

“You’re all very energetic in the morning,” Atsumu commented as he wiped the sleep off of his face for the fourth time. 

“They’re always lively, that’s why I’m breaking Daichi out of here. He can’t handle it.” Kuroo pinched Daichi’s cheek and he somehow blushed more

.

“Let’s go already, Tetsuro!” Daichi dragged him out of the room as they both waved goodbye.

Atsumu moved next to Hinata by the stove. “Can I help?”

He shook his head and threw a small towel over his shoulder. “Nope. Unless you want to sit right here on the counter so I can tell you how pretty you are.”

Atsumu snorted. “Oh, shut up.” Atsumu looked back. “I can’t-”

“I know you can’t contain yourself around me, but I wasn’t going to say anything.”

Atsumu flicked his arm. “I was gonna say I can’t COOK.” He went back to sit at the stool next to the kitchen island. “And now you’ll never get my help again.”

“Can you cut a tomato?” Bokuto pointed his knife at Atsumu again.

“I can and I will.” Atsumu took the knife and vegetable from him.

“Bokuto! You better not-”

“I’m going to be outside for a few. Let me know when it’s ready!” Bokuto was already headed outside, volleyball in hand. Akaashi chased after him.

  
  
  


Kageyama appeared next and went straight for the coffee maker. He leaned over the counter, groaning as it dripped. Hinata appeared to be ignoring him or maybe they just communicated without words, being best friends and all.

Atsumu glanced between them and they were definitely ignoring each other.

Kageyama turned around suddenly and stared directly at the blonde. He opened his mouth to say something and Hinata stopped him with one look.

“Don’t.”

Kageyama rolled his eyes and turned back to the coffee.

“Don’t what?” Atsumu asked curiously.

Kageyama turned back around. “Is that an invitation?”

“It’s not,” Hinata spoke roughly.

“An invitation to what?” Atsumu asked as he adjusted uncomfortably on the stool.

“He’s going to ask you a menagerie of personal questions. You do not have to answer them.” Hinata explained as he finished the food and turned the stove off.

“I’ll answer what I can. I don’t mind-”

“Great!” Kageyama clapped his hands together and leaned over the counter and stared at Atsumu, deep into his soul. “Why haven’t you two had sex yet?”

Hinata groaned loudly. “Why do you-”

“We’ve been on exactly 1 date and we’ve known each other for like...a week.”

“Do you plan to?” Kageyama asked.

“I don’t have a schedule for it if that’s what yer askin’.” 

He narrowed his eyes at the blonde. “How’d you meet?”

“I think we were both commiserating over being stuck at a party that neither of us had any intention of staying at.” 

Kageyama turned to spare a look for his best friend. “Wait, you’re that guy?”

Atsumu glanced at Hinata. “I’m what guy?” He had an uneasy feeling where this was going.

“Tobio, don’t-”

Kageyama cut his friend off. “The guy from the pool.” Atsumu nodded, uneasy. “Huh. Interesting.”

“Why is that interesting?” Atsumu tapped his nails on the counter.

“Because Shoyo here doesn’t date. Not only does he not date, he literally only sleeps with guys and never calls them again.” Atsumu felt Hinata shift next to him. “But a weird thing happened during that party the other night. He came in to get more beer and started telling me about this guy he was talking to on the deck. I’ve never known my best friend of many, many years to talk about a guy like that. Then I find out he slept on the floor and you slept on the bed? Then you two were in the same bed last night and didn’t have sex? It’s interesting.” Kageyama leaned over the counter and crossed his arms.

Atsumu shrugged. “Maybe it’ll happen, maybe it won’t.”

“Shoyou seems comfortable with that and I find it weird. What have you done to my best friend?”

Atsumu huffed out a laugh. “I haven’t done anything.”

“When the last time you had sex?” Kageyama asked.

Hinata sighed again as he bit into his eggs, but it wasn’t bothering Atsumu that much. “It’s been a while. Like 8 or so months.”

“And the last guy you had sex with, boyfriend?” 

“Yes.”

“Where is he now?” He continued questioning.

“I don’t know, and I don’t care,” Atsumu answered coolly. “He was having sex with a lot of people, I just mistakenly thought I was the only one.” Atsumu cringed at the memory.

Kageyama nodded slowly and continued his withering stare. “Is it true you flash people for money?”

“No,” Atsumu responded immediately. “Where do people get that from?”

He shrugged. “Rumors, I guess. One person jokes about it and other people run with it.”

“I can count on one hand the number of people who have seen me naked as an adult and two of ‘em are my parents. One is my brother.” 

“Why has your family seen you naked as an adult?”

“Because I had surgery when I turned 18 to remove benign cancerous cells from my spine and I needed help showering durin’ recovery. And no, my parents are not around anymore if that’s what yer plannin’ on asking next. I don’t have a long family history. It’s jus’ my brother and I.”

“Tsumu, you don’t have to-”

“ S’fine.” Atsumu leaned back in the stool. “Anything else?”

“Yeah, why were you up having a panic attack at 3 am? These walls are thin and my room is next to his.”

“That’s none of your business,” Atsumu responded with hesitation.

“Did you tell Sho?” Kageyama questioned.

“Yes.”

Hinata handed Atsumu a plate. “That’s enough. Leave him alone.”

Kageyama nodded. “Fine. I’m done. For now.” He took a plate and served himself. He sat across from the couple and continued starting.

“I don’t care about the questions. If I don’t like your question, I jus’ won’t answer it.” Atsumu smothered a piece of toast with butter and jam and chewed on it.

“You eat your toast the same way Shoyo does. It’s disgusting.”

Kageyama motioned toward Hinata as he spread strawberry jam across his bread. “Uh, it’s delicious. You’re best friends, don’t you have the same taste buds or something?” 

Kageyama rolled his eyes and grumbled, “That’s not how that works. It’s still gross.”

“Well, if you’d stop watching me eat then you wouldn’t be so grossed out.” Atsumu smiled at him, jam and butter on his lips.

He shuddered and Hinata laughed. “He’s got you there.”

“Is he going to be your boyfriend now?”

Hinata rolled his eyes. “You know your questions don’t work on me.”

“We’re dating. People still do that.” Atsumu answered.

Kageyama nodded as he finished his food. “Fine. Ignore my questions then. I’ll be back with more.”

Hinata leaned against Atsumu’s shoulder. “I’m sorry about that. He can be...a lot.”

“It’s alright. I don’t really mind the questions.” Atsumu looked down at his plate and stabbed a pile of eggs. “Why did I cut those tomatoes? You didn’t use any.”

“I honestly do not know why Bokuto was cutting tomatoes. I think he thought he was helping.” Hinata replied as he squinted at the pile of red fruit. “Do you have any plans today?”

Atsumu shrugged. “Not really. I have a stream planned tonight, we are trying to meet a goal this month to donate to the pantry at school. I should really stop by there and do some inventory, I think we are low on some things.”

“You run the pantry?” Hinta looked surprised.

“I help. I’m their treasurer, so I take care of the finances and run donation drives and whatnot. Before streaming was actually lucrative, they helped me out frequently. I’m just paying them back.”

Hinata nodded. “That’s really cool. It’s a great resource.”

“Do you have plans?”

He finished his food and sighed softly. “Yeah, unfortunately, I have to get to the gym and finish going over a bunch of game footage as well. I usually go early, but someone wouldn’t get off of me this morning.”

Atsumu scowled at eyes at him. “Oh, shut up. I’m a heavy sleeper, just move me next time.” 

Hinata laughed as he leaned toward Atsumu.

“Are you a consultant or something? I thought you didn’t play anymore?” 

“I’m- I don’t know. I stopped playing after an injury and some personal problems, but those problems aren’t really problems anymore and my rehab has been going really well.”

Atsumu thought about what Hinata was implying. If Hinata went back to the team that he used to play for, he’d end up across the country. Hinata also seemed to imply that it wasn’t a sure thing so Atsumu didn’t think too much of it at the time.

Atsumu stood up and stretched. He brought his plate to the sink and started rinsing it.

“You don’t have to-”

“It’s just a plate-”

“No, really, leave it. Bokuto and Akaashi insist they do all the dishes because neither of them can cook. Well, Akaashi can but he doesn’t want Bokuto to know that because Bokuto will feel bad.” Hinata explained. Atsumu laughed quietly and set his plate down in the sink. “I can give you a ride back, I assume you want to wear your own clothes as well.” He smirked at the stretched out t-shirt Atsumu was wearing.

“You should invest in some bigger shirts or something.” Atsumu looked down at his shirt. “Or just...be taller.”

Hinata chuckled and tugged on the shirt Atsumu was wearing. “Maybe you should be shorter.” Atsumu took a deep breath. “Are those calming techniques of yours working? Or are you about to turn into a Yeti or something?”

“SHOYO HINATA! SHUT YOUR DAMN MOUTH!” Atsumu yelled at him. He tried to run but Atsumu jumped on his back. 

“Get off of me!” He tried to pull Atsumu off of him but Atsumu tightened his legs around Hinata’s waist and his arms around his neck.

“I really expected you to fall- holy shit, Shoyo, you’re a tank-” Atsumu could barely catch a breath as he laughed.

He sighed heavily and gave up trying to pull the bigger man off of him. 

“Aw. Akaashi! Let me be your backpack!” 

Atsumu turned and watched in horror as Bokuto jumped on Akaashi, without much warning, and they both went crashing to the floor. Akaashi face planted and started grumbling curses into the floor as Bokuto slowly got up then proceeded to run away.

Atsumu slid off of Hinata’s back and tilted his head at Akaashi. “I think he’s dead.”

“He’s not, but Bokuto will be,” Hinata commented. He grabbed Atsumu’s hand and led him upstairs. 

“Come on, crazy. I’ll drop you off on my way.”

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

Hinata and Atsumu hung out more and more over the next few months. When finals came around, he was busier than ever with helping out his old team and Atsumu was busy with his nose shoved in his books. Sakusa had taken to tutoring Atsumu  _ only  _ in the blonde’s own room and  _ only  _ if Iizuna wasn’t there.

It felt duplicitous, to say the least..

“No. That’s wrong. How do you not know that already?” Sakusa jabbed his finger at the question Atsumu had just answered.

Atsumu frowned and furrowed his eyebrows together, chewing on his lip. “I thought it was-”

“No. It’s not. It’s wrong.”

Atsumu glared at him. “Care to explain to me how it’s wrong?”

“No, I don’t, because you should really know this already.”

Sakusa had grown increasingly cold the more Atsumu was hanging out with Hinata and it was incredibly frustrating. Hinata stopped by once with snacks during one of their sessions and Sakusa didn’t talk to the streamer for 2 days. Hinata didn’t even enter the room. He pushed the bag into Atsumu’s hands and pressed a kiss to his cheek, hurrying off to the gym.

“I don’t know why I bother tutoring you if you can’t retain anything-”

Atsumu cut him off with a sharp clearing of his throat . “I do know this and it ISN’T wrong. How about you check it again?” Atsumu shoved his notebook toward the TA.

He scoffed and looked at the answer again. He pushed the notebook back. “Sorry. It’s right.”

“Why are you bein’ such a dick?” Atsumu all but muttered into the book, rubbing his hands over his face.

“Excuse me?” He was staring at Atsumu, a confused look on his face.

Atsumu rolled his eyes and closed the notebook. “I think I’m good with the tutoring. I appreciate all of yer help, but my final is tomorrow and after that, you won’t have to bother sneaking in here anymore, I’m sure you’ll be ecstatic about that.”

“How am I being a dick?” Sakusa questioned.

“Seriously?” Atsumu stared at him and he nodded. “Yer not a sociopath, Kiyoomi, ya can’t possibly not know that you’ve become a bigger and bigger asshat since I started datin’ Shoyo. I don’t understand what yer fuckin’ problem is.” 

Sakusa huffed and started shoving his stuff into his bag. He stood up and stopped. Sakusa looked at Atsumu. “He’s not good enough for you. How do you know he’s not off fucking other people when you’re not around since you clearly aren’t putting out.”

“Why the fuck do you think it’s okay to talk to me like that?” Atsumu shouted at him louder than I meant to. “The person that I’m datin’ is none of yer damn business, Omi! You made it clear that not only were you not interested in me, you were so uninterested in me that you asked me how to help you win over another guy, so fuck you and your judgemental bullshit.” 

“Whatever, Miya.” He pulled his bag over his shoulder. “Good luck on your final. If you want my advice about Hinata-”

Atsumu held his hand up. “I do not. Get out of my fuckin’ room.” 

He rolled his eyes and left. What a  _ dick _ .

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`

Atsumu aced his final. He knew it was at least in partial thanks to Sakusa, but he couldn’t find it in him to tell the raven-haired man anything other than a quick ‘thank you’ via text alongside his final payment for the tutoring.

He read it but didn’t respond.

Hinata showed up after he was done at the gym. It was almost 11 and Atsumu was already asleep, but he had a duplicate key to his dorm made. Atsumu woke up when he felt his breath against his shoulder.

“I saw your text, but I wanted to say congrats in person. I’m sorry it’s so late.” He whispered into Atsumu’s hair as he hugged him from behind. 

Atsumu opened his eyes and yawned. “Hi, you.” Atsumu’s voice came out hoarse, heavy with the throes of sleep.

“Hi.”

Atsumu turned around to face him and he looked into the blonde’s tired eyes. “I knew you’d do well. You’re smart as fuck. You’re also cute as fuck, you know that? And I’ve been thinking… We’ve been dating for like a month now, right? I think it’s about time I kissed you.”

Atsumu was thankful the room was dark because he knew his face was the color of the same cherry icee they matched on their first date. He forgot how to speak and simply nodded in response.

Hinata cupped his cheek with one hand and wrapped his other arm around Atsumu. He smiled against the blonde’s mouth and pressed their lips together. It was slow and soft and sweet. He slid his hands through Atsumu’s short hair and pushed against him.

“I have to admit, I’ve fantasized about this several times and it’s better in person.” Hinata whispered against Atsumu’s chin as he kissed his jaw.

“You fantasize about me?”

Hinata nodded and lightly kissed Atsumu’s lips. “Frequently. I feel like I’m the younger one here sometimes.”

Atsumu laughed and brought his hands up to his chest and slid one around the back of his neck. Kissing Hinata felt right. It felt easy. Everything with him just felt so easy. It wasn’t a mess of snarky comments and unspoken words like the short-lived whatever it was with Sakusa. It was just easy.

“I know you’re exhausted. You should sleep. I’ll stay.” He said quietly as he planted a final kiss on Atsumu’s mouth.

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

Atsumu finished the next semester with his grades back up to where they should be. He was having a hard time balancing streaming, schoolwork, and his relationship though. They had been dating for a little while, about 10 months or so. They decided the easiest way for them to balance things out would be to move in together.

Atsumu was spending most days at his place anyway, so much so that Bokuto and Kageyama asked where the blonde was when he wasn’t there. He was streaming one night and all of them hopped into his viewer box and spammed him until he came over. Atsumu did and they were just looking for another person to play Monopoly with because Kageyama cheated and needed to be watched.

They played a three-hour game that ended with Bokuto yelling at everyone for putting him into debt. Hinata consoled him and that was when Atsumu realized how much he really liked him.

  
  
  


Atsumu went back to his room after a particularly hard day and just wanted to cry. He turned his phone off and laid on his floor, trying to breathe.

He was so zoned out that he didn’t hear the knocks on the door. He was still staring at the ceiling, tears pricking at the corners of his eyes, when his door opened. Hinata popped his head in and looked around the room until he found Atsumu lying on the floor. He gave him a sad smile and left food on the floor. He also left him a note with hearts all over it and ‘H+A 4EVER’ written on it. It was ridiculous and cute and that was when Atsumu realized that he might love Shoyo.

Atsumu took another couple days to himself then showed up on his doorstep at exactly the right time. Hinata was waist-deep in an avalanche of studying plays and tapes and he looked like he had been up for days.

“Can you take a break?”

He rubbed his temples and nodded. “Yeah, for a little bit.”

Atsumu took his hand and led him out to the backyard where he had been the last few hours. Hinata was stuck in his makeshift office in their den for days, only really going out for food. Osamu took pity on Atsumu’s begging and helped him make Hinata a meal. Bokuto tried to help, but he really just ended up cutting up tomatoes. Again, the blonde wasn’t sure why since he didn’t use any tomatoes.

Hinata walked slowly behind him as the taller man had him follow outside. His face softened when he saw the dorky set up that Atsumu knew he would love. He got flowers and sparkly lights and his favorite chocolate-covered strawberries.

They ate and talked and he smiled so much. That was when Atsumu realized he definitely loved him.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> happy holidays, everyone. 
> 
> my brother got me an oikawa hoodie and i'm living my best life.

Atsumu was arranging the last of his stuff into a box on a warm summer day in July, about a month before the next semester was going to start. He gave up his dorm in place of living with Hinata. Atsumu had been getting increasing amounts of visitors after it leaked that he lived in the dorms, so that was another reason to get out of there.

There was a soft knock as Atsumu adjusted his headband to keep his hair out of his face. “Come in!”

It was Sakusa. He leaned against the doorframe and looked around the room. “You’re really moving?”

“Yup.”

He would know that if he had done anything other than greet the blonde with a head nod when they saw each other in the hall.

“Where are you moving?”

Atsumu wrapped a cord and shoved it into a box. “I’m moving in with Shoyo.”

His eyes widened and he shook his head slightly. “Seriously?”

“Yes.” Atsumu picked up the last box and did a final check. It looked like he had everything and Hinata was in the parking lot arranging stuff into his Jeep.

“Have you two-”

“Why are you so obsessed with my sex life? Holy fuck, Omi. We aren’t even friends anymore, but ya wanna know if my boyfriend and I have had sex?” Atsumu adjusted the box on his hip and saw a stray cord sticking out of the closet. He reached down for it after setting the box down.

“I don’t know. You told me once that the first time you have sex with someone meant something, I just wanted to know what it meant for you.” He shifted against the doorframe.

Atsumu stood up and faced him. “We haven’t had sex. I still think it’s weird that you think yer entitled to know anything pertainin’ to me.”

“Why not?”

Atsumu scoffed and shrugged. “We just haven’t, Omi.”

That was the best answer the blonde could give him. They were taking their relationship at a snail's pace. Atsumu wasn’t even sure we were exclusive until he was asked to move in with Hinata. They hadn’t had  _ that  _ talk yet. They had kissed, but that was really it. Atsumu was sure he wanted more, but he seemed patient waiting.

“Is it because you still like me?”

For him to ask that he had to have gained an immense amount of confidence since Atsummu had first met him. Atsumu stared at him in pure annoyance.

“Go fuck yerself.”

Sakusa ignored the comment and held his hands out. “Let me carry that box-” Sakusa reached for the box next to Atsumu.

“No, I have it. It’s the last one. Sakusa- I have it-” Atsumu tried to take the box from him and he yanked it out of the blonde’s hands. He set it on the floor and stepped towards Atsumu. “What are you fuckin’ doin’?”

“Just humor me for a second.” He stood in front of Atsumu and before he realized what Sakusa was doing, the taller man kissed him. 

Atsumu let him linger for a second too long before he pushed Sakusa away. 

“Kiyoomi! Are you fuckin’ kidding me? All that time and NOW you-” Atsumu yelled at him as he shoved him back again. He scoffed and picked up the box, fuming. “Goodbye.”

Atsumu didn’t know if he was angrier at Sakusa or at himself because his lips still felt electric.

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

“Are you okay?” Hinata’s question interrupted Atsumu's continued fuming.

“Yeah.” Atsumu responded without thinking. 

He continued staring at the blonde from the edge of the pool. Atsumu was leaning back with his legs in the water and Hinata was standing with his arms hung over the edge.

“You sure? Because I’ve asked you three times if you’re planning on just sitting there or getting in and you haven’t responded yet. It’s hot.”

Atsumu dragged his eyes down at the concerned face below him and felt a pang of guilt. Atsumu sighed. “I’m sorry, Sho.” Atsumu shook his head and looked at the water. “I’m going to tell you something, but I don’t want you to get mad.”

“You really shouldn’t start a confession out like that, it really brings a guy down.” He leaned his chin on his hand and stared sideways at Atsumu’s bare thigh.

“Omi kissed me earlier, right before I left my dorm.”

“Hm. Okay.” He blinked at Atsumu’s skin.

“Okay?”

“I don’t really know what I’m supposed to do with that, Atsumu.” He looked up at his boyfriend. “Did you kiss him back?”

“Absolutely not.”

“Did you want him to kiss you?”

“No! I pushed him off of me.” Atsumu threw his hands in the air in exasperation.

“Did you punch him?”

“I did not punch him.”

“Ah, well. I’ll have to-” He noticed Atsumu’s face twist in a grimace and laughed. “I’m joking.” He sighed softly. “I already thought he liked you. I confirmed it after Bokuto told me he hung around waiting to give you a ride home after that party. Bokuto tried to play it off like he asked him to, but I know he was just covering for his friend. I knew he liked you and that’s why I took you on that double date. I wanted to see if you liked him too.”

“And?” Atsumu asked.

“And I don’t think you do, not anymore at least. I think that you think you might, or you did at one point, but I think you’re too in love with me to even think about anybody else.”

Hinata flashed a bright smile at Atsumu and the latter realized he was right. He was absolutely right. His eyes widened in shock and he started stuttering.

“Jeez- Tsumu- I didn’t mean it. I was joking. You look crazy, don’t run. Oh, fuck, don’t run.” He rubbed his hands over his face.

Atsumu shook his head and wiped the blank look off of his face. He pulled off the t-shirt he was wearing and fell on top of Hinata in the pool. Atsumu sputtered above the water and clung to him. 

“Can you like...not swim? You’re a disaster.” He hooked his arms under Atsumu and held him up against the edge of the pool. Atsumu looked up at him and the shorter man looked worried. “It was just a joke-”

“Was it? Was it a joke?”

“I mean-” He sighed and looked at the water next to them. “Not really, no.”

Atsumu wrapped his legs around Hinata, half in a show of affection and half to steady himself in the water, and leaned into Hinata’s shoulder.

“Good. Because I do. I do love you.” Atsumu whispered against his skin, happily swimming in the first place they got to know each other. 

He grinned widely at Atsumu. “Do ya?”

Atsumu narrowed his eyes. “I’m gonna regret it now-”

He pulled the taller man against him and their lips met. He kissed Atsumu hard and slow, pulling him off of the wall and into the middle of the water. Atsumu clung to him for dear life.

“You let me drag you into a pool, that night we met, and you cannot swim.”

“I figured you’d protect me.” Atsumu shrugged as he tightened his grip around Hinata’s shoulders.

“What if I didn’t?”

Atsumu’s eyes widened. “Then I would probably have drowned, Shoyo, and you would be stuck living life without my endearing presence,” Atsumu said flatly.

“Endearing is one word for it.” He chuckled.

“I am never kissing you again.” Atsumu let go of him and wiggled out of his arms. He reached for the side of the pool and pulled away. “Now help me get out before I die.”

Hinata snorted and pushed Atsumu up, his hands lingering on Atsumu’s hips as the blonde turned around. He moved Atsumu’s knee to the side and laid his head on his thigh as he looked up at him. Atsumu ran his fingers through Hinata’s wet hair and shook his head in amusement.

“Needy ass.”

“I love you, too.” He whispered against Atsumu’s skin, pressing his lips against the streamer's thigh.

“Yeah, I know.” Atsumu winked at him and he smiled softly.

“YOU TWO BETTER NOT BE HAVING SEX IN THAT POOL! WE ALL USE THAT POOL! IF AKAASHI AND I CAN’T DO IT IN THE POOL THEN YOU-”

There was a lot of yelling, then a yelp of pain and some shuffling. Atsumu turned back to see Bokuto holding his head and jumping down the stairs. Akaashi was behind him, hands on his hips and shaking his head.

Kageyama, Daichi, Kuroo Oikawa, and Iwa appeared behind him. Atsumu had a strong feeling one of their infamous parties was starting.

“Oikawa!” Atsumu waved at his love-hate best friend who credited himself for their relationship.

Oikawa beamed at the couple. “See, Iwa-chan, I told you they were together!” He jerked his thumb at Iwa and whispered, “He didn’t believe me.”

Iwa’s hand smacked the back of Oikawa’s head, knocking his sunglasses off. “Shut up, Crappykawa, I never said I didn’t believe you. I said they weren’t together BECAUSE of you.” 

It was cute what their relationship had in common with Bokuto and Akaashi. Iwa and Akaashi were clearly madly in love, but they both refused to acknowledge it in public. Daichi and Kuroo were basically married and they acted like it too, always finding an excuse to touch each other. It was sweet. Bokuto and Akaashi were a combination of the two.

Atsumu covered his eyes as Bokuto cannonballed into the pool. Oikawa started complaining about his scratched sunglasses. Iwa mumbled something as he pulled his phone out to start buying him a new pair as Oikawa started giving him his best wide-eyed injured dog look. 

“Let’s go, Tsumu, come race me!” Bokuto spoke excitedly.

Hinata snorted. Atsumu scowled at him. He tilted his head and smiled. “Hinata wants to. He was just tellin’ me how he loves practicing endurance.”

Hinata splashed the blonde. “If you don’t-”

“Oh, what was that, Sho? You wanna play some volleyball after this? I’m sure the guys would love to.” Atsumu announced loud enough for Bokuto to hear.

Kageyama laughed loudly behind them and Hinata swam the opposite direction.

Atsumu shrugged. “Guess he can’t handle it.”

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

Atsumu was right, their little pool party turned into a very large one. Bokuto called it a ‘welcome to the house’ party in Atsumu’s honor. 

Atsumu was buzzed and happy as he sat in the living room watching the guys play some scary video game he’d never heard of. Noya was sitting in Asahi’s lap and Asahi looked horrified as he watched his younger boyfriend play. Osamu was cuddled between Akaashi and Bokuto, looking perfectly at home.

Atsumu noticed Hinata was missing and got up to go find him. He found his boyfriend being cornered by a pair of girls that were definitely drunker than probably they should be.

Atsumu watched as he leaned up against the wall in the kitchen. Hinata always managed to look semi-uncomfortable if it wasn’t his idea to start a conversation. He mostly kept to himself unless he was around people he knew. He very clearly didn’t know those girls.

Atsumu came up behind him and slipped his arms around Hinata’s waist. He stiffened at the touch, but relaxed when he looked down at the blonde’s hands. Atsumu rested his head on Hinata’s shoulder and smiled in greeting. “ ‘Scuse me, girls. I need’a borrow him.”

“But we were-”

“No fair, you can’t just touch him like that!” The taller girl commented, glaring at the blonde.

Atsumu smiled at her and moved his hand toward the waistband of Hinata’s shorts. “I mean, he could stop me, but I don’ think he will.”

Hinata laughed as he cleared his throat and Atsumu knew he was blushing. Atsumu kept his fingertips under the waistband of Hinata’s basketball shorts, his other hand splayed across his stomach. They took the hint and backed off.

“You’re crazy.” He turned around and looked up at Atsumu. “You’re drunk?”

Atsumu shook his head. “Nah. Jus’ had a few, I can walk in a straight line and touch my nose and all that.”

“Your cheeks are all red.”

Atsumu reached up and touched his face. “So are yers.” He laughed and ran his thumb across Atsumu’s jaw. “Kiss me, please.”

He smiled and leaned his head back to kiss the taller man. Atsumu slid his tongue inside Hinata’s mouth and the latter man deepened the kiss. When Hinata pulled back, they were both breathless.

“Tsumu,” His name escaped from his mouth in a low whisper. 

“Shoyo,” Atsumu bit his lip and looked up at him through his lashes. “Take me to bed.”

He kissed Atsumu again and took his hand. They were able to sneak past the groups of their friends and he led Atsumu up to his bedroom. Atsumu closed the door behind them and Hinata jumped on him, his legs clinging to the blonde’s waist.

Atsumu walked them toward the edge of his bed and sat. He reached for the hem of Hinata’s shirt and pulled it off. Hinta ran his fingers down his back as the blonde kissed his jaw. Hinata yanked off Atsumu’s t-shirt and the blonde sighed softly as warm hands slid up his torso.

Atsumu rolled his head back and pushed his chest against Hinata’s hands as the latter sucked on Atsumu’s neck.

“Atsumu,” He whispered against his neck chest. Atsumu ran his fingers through his bright orange hair, tugging on it gently. Hinata reached for his shorts. “Take these off.”

Hinata hoisted himself up and stood briefly on one leg as he expertly kicked his shorts and briefs off. Hinata sat back in his lap, settling his legs on either side of Atsumu’s thick thighs.

“I don’t think it’s fair that I’m the only one putting in any effort here.” Hinata teased as he tugged on Atsumu’s shorts.

Atsumu laughed and lifted his hips slightly, pushing his own bottoms off. Hinata dragged his fingertips down Atsumu’s neck, following the touch with his mouth. Atsumu sighed softly. He could feel Hinata’s pressed against his stomach as they kissed.

“Are you okay?”

Hinata gripped Atsumu’s hips and pulled them closer. Hinata pushed a small bottle into Atsumu’s hands and grinded against him. 

“M’fine, Tsumu- just get me ready.”

Atsumu lubed up his fingers and slid one of his hands between them and the other behind Hinata. The smaller man gasped at the first prodding, pushing against Atsumu as he drew out breathy moans and soft whimpers. 

Hinata pushed his face into Atsumu’s neck and began to nod fervently. “Tsumu- please. I’m ready.”

Atsumu nodded and lifted Hinata slightly. Hinata slowly slid down him, his breath started coming out in shuddering gasps. Hinata squeezed his sweat slick arms around Atsumu’s neck and rolled his hips.

At that moment, Atsumu regretted waiting so long but at the same time, he didn’t regret anything. The feel of Hinata’s body pressed against his, one of his hands in Atsumu’s hair, the other against his back, it was all incredible.

“I love you, Tsumu.” Hinata muttered into the blonde’s neck, pushing his lips against his collarbone. 

“Oh-” Atsumu gasped back, groaning lowly. “I love you- I love you-”

  
  
  


They collapsed against each other not long after, the room filled with soft sounds of their heavy breathing. Atsumu wrapped his arms around Hinata and squeezed him tightly. 

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

Osamu, Atsumu, Akaashi, and Bokuto all attended his graduation. Atsumu could hear Bokuto yelling from the stands. It was wildly embarrassing, but he felt almost ready to cry from the unwavering support coming from the three of them.

He had a job offer before he finished college at what was basically his dream job. He was headed into a large marketing firm. It paid incredibly well and they were even willing to let him keep streaming since he could use the marketing strategies he was going to be using at work there. It really was a dream job.

Hinata had grown increasingly tense the days following Atsumu’s graduation, working himself harder than unusual. It seemed like he was dancing around telling Atsumu something and for some reason, he just didn’t seem to want to.

Hinata was locking himself in their den working on volleyball related things. He’d shove papers to the side when Atsumu came in and give him a tired smile.

It came to head when Hinata loudly snapped at the blonde for leaving a washcloth on the bathroom floor. He stomped into the living room where Atsumu was hanging out with Kageyama. Atsumu was standing behind the couch making fun of the raven-haired eccentric man for something or other.

The look on his face when Atsumu flinched and stepped away from him made the blonde nauseous.

“What-” Hinata reached out for him and Atsumu stepped back again, purely out of instinct and self-preservation. “Hey-” His voice cracked as he said Atsumu’s name.

“What is wrong with you?” The blonde felt his own voice shake as he whispered the question.

“The fuck, Sho? What is your problem?” Kageyama looked between the couple.

Hinata ran his hand through his hair and let out a shaky breath. “I need to talk to you. You both, I guess.” He sat on the recliner adjacent to them. Atsumu sat on the couch and watched him breathe slowly, already prepared for the worst. “I have to- shit. I have to go. To Osaka. The Jackals need my help.”

Kageyama nodded. “Yeah, you’re going for a week, right?”

Atsumu stared at his boyfriend and realized why he was so tense lately. “It’s not just a week is it?”

Hinata avoided his gaze completely. “No.”

“How long?” Atsumu asked.

“At least a year.” 

Atsumu let out a choked breath. 

Kageyama stood. “That doesn’t make sense. I thought they didn’t offer you anything-”

“They haven’t, nothing permanent anyways. I spoke to Coach and there’s a solid chance he will offer me something, especially with all the consulting I’ve been doing. Besides,” Hinata paused to turn his eyes to the floor. “I volunteered to go.”

“You volunteered?” Atsumu leaned against the back of the couch. He nodded and continued staring out into the backyard. “When do you leave?”

Hinta sighed dejectedly. “2 days.”

Atsumu jumped to his feet. “You leave in 2 days? For an entire YEAR? When were you plannin’ on tellin’ me, Shoyo? When you asked me for a ride to the fuckin’ airport?”

Hinata didn’t respond. He clenched his jaw and looked up at Atsumu. He opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out.

Atsumu shook his head at him in disbelief. “Well, fuck me, right?” He turned on his heel and went into the den. 

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

They didn’t speak until the day he was supposed to leave. Atsumu just didn’t know what to say to him. He spent 2 days in the den, mostly streaming to keep his mind off of their whirlwind of a relationship. The blonde really didn’t know what to say. Hinata was moving across the country for a year and he didn’t feel the need to tell me? What the hell was Atsumu supposed to make of that.

On top of that, the nightmares were back in full force.

Atsumu sat at his computer desk, his legs underneath him, drafting an email to the company that had just hired him. He had written it so many times and deleted it. He was sending in an apology attached to his resignation so he could go with Hinata. After rewriting it the 15th time, Atsuu realized that Hinata didn’t once ask him to go with him.

Atsumu deleted the email for the last time and squeezed his eyes shut as he started crying silently.

  
  
  


He finally opened his eyes and glanced at the clock. Hinata was leaving in an hour. As much as it hurt, he knew he didn’t want to let his boyfriend go, but why should Atsumu bother putting in effort if he wouldn’t? The blonde dragged himselfto the living room and sat on the bottom of the stairs and watched as Hinata searched for the last few things he was throwing in his carry-on.

“Who’s taking you to the airport?” Atsumu asked quietly.

Hinata turned around, seemingly shocked at Atsumu’s presence, and took a breath. “Tobio.”

“Can I?” He nodded. Atsumu walked upstairs to change and let Kageyama know he was going to take Hinata. Kageyama gave Atsumu a sad smile and handed him Hinata’s keys.

  
  
  


The ride to the airport was quiet, music being the only sound between the two. Atsumu parked in the private lot that the team owned and watched Hinata load his bags onto a cart that took them to the gate. Hinata sat next to Atsumu on the cart, their knees lightly touching and the blonde could feel the tension radiating off of him. 

The call to board his plane came over the loudspeaker and Atsumu stood in front of Hinata at the security entrance. Atsumu looked around at all the other people traveling, casually going about their day. When he looked back down at Hinata, he regretted it.

Hinata’s eyes watered as he reached up and touched Atsumu’s cheek. “Tsumu-”

“No, Shoyo- it’s fine. I mean, it’s not fine, but it’s-it’s-it’s-this is clearly not-”

“We can make this work.” He said softly. Atsumu bit his lip and stared down at him. “We can. I know it’s a lot, but please, Atsumu, we can make it work. I know we can.”

“You’re going to be gone for a year and you didn’t even ask me to come with you,” Atsumu responded tearfully, finally voicing his deepest concern.

“I couldn’t do that, not after that job offer you had. I know how badly you wanted it. I couldn’t ask you to put your life on hold for me.” Hinat’s voice was raspy.

“You should have told me! You should have at least told me. I thought we meant more to you than that-”

He cut Atsumu off and kissed him softly. “I am sorry. I am so sorry. I’m an idiot, I know that. I should have told you. I just didn’t want you to give up what you worked for. We can make this work.”

Atsumu let out a teary sigh and hugged Hinata as tight as he could. “We can most certainly try.”

“I love you, Atsumu. I love you so much. We can make it work. I’ll come to see you whenever I can, you can come to see me. I mean, there’s so much technology.”

“I love you.” Atsumu kissed Hinata and squeezed his eyes shut.

Then, he was gone.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> *updated tags*

The first couple of months went by in a blur of missing Hinata’s presence and working. They were both swamped. Hinata seemed to be more involved with the team than he was letting on and Atsumu was selected for a huge marketing project for an up and coming beverage company. They were both so busy and it was hard finding time to talk to each other. 

Atsumu took some comfort in hanging out with Bokuto, Akaashi, Osamu and Kageyama. Akaashi had since moved in, not that it was much of a surprise. 

It was nice having all of them around, but Atsumu mostly kept to himself. The time difference between them was harsh. Atsumu was usually going to sleep in the middle of Hinata’s day while Hinata was fast asleep around the time Atsumu was deep into work.

They  _ finally  _ cleared their schedules on the same day and managed to make time to call each other. Atsumu dressed up for it and everything. He slicked his hair back the way Hinata had always liked, he wore one of the few shirts that he had left. 

Atsumu set up his laptop and waited, a fond smile on his face.

He waited another 45 minutes before he came to terms with the fact that Hinata had forgotten. It was the first time in two months they were going to be able to do something other than a quick phone call, and Hinata  _ forgot _ .

Hinata eventually sent him a long apology text, something about getting the time wrong or something. Atsumu didn’t read the entire message.

They weren’t trying as hard as they could have been trying, that’s really all there was to it. They were putting their individual careers first, which was fine, but they needed to concentrate on each other if they had any chance at lasting another 10 months apart. The texts between the two consisted of constant apologies and missed phone calls. There were so many excuses that Atsumu started to wonder if they were both making them up. They promised to make it work, but it wasn’t working.

Atsumu couldn’t even remember the last time either of them said ‘I love you’.

Their most recent conversation led to an argument about how lonely the distance was. Hinata was struggling, Atsumu was struggling. Hinata thought that maybe they should take a break and Atsumu didn’t completely disagree with him, but he couldn’t bear to bring himself to say that out loud.

  
  
  


They were able to get one skype-call in and Hinata just looked so tired. Atsumu was able to get the address to his apartment from Kageyama after overhearing a conversation between them. Hinata was thinking about staying in Osaka permanently, but he didn’t know how to tell Atsumu. The orange-haired man didn’t mention anything about asking Atsumu to move there with him, just that he was thinking about staying. A little piece of Atsumu broke that day, but it seemed like it was inevitable. They just weren’t putting in the effort that they could have been. Atsumu decided he was going to go see him in person and see if a connection was still there. If it wasn’t, at least they wouldn’t break up over text.

  
  
  


Atsumu leaned back in his chair and decided he was just going to have to go see Hinata. It took another 3 months to get the days off, but he was able to get a weekend clear. He was going to fly out to Osaka on Friday morning and get there by that evening. Atsumu would then be leaving Sunday evening on a red-eye around midnight. It was plenty of time for them. Atsumu didn’t tell Hinta about it because he didn’t want anything to fall through. 

  
  
  


Friday came. Atsumu got on the plane and slept half the flight. He called an rideshare from the airport and got to Hinata’s apartment around 8 pm. He walked up the stairs and knocked on the door, clutching his duffel bag.

Imagine Atsumu’s surprise when a tall broad shouldered brown-haired man answered the door in an MSBY shirt. Atsumu stared at the logo across his chest before dragging his eyes to meet the olive green ones.

“You’re not the delivery driver.” He commented quietly. “Hi? Can I help you?”

Atsumu set his bag down and couldn’t think of anything intelligent to say back. “Maybe. You must be Hinata’s boyfriend?”

“I’m not his boyfriend. Not yet anyway, we just have casual sex sometimes and hang out.”

Atsumu blinked rapidly and nodded slowly. “Right.”

“Were you here to see him?” The man asked as he juggled the keys in his hand.

“Yeah. I’m sorry to be here so late, I’m a friend of his, I just needed to talk to him. I just got into Osaka for the weekend, I thought I would say hi.” Atusmu choked the words out and hoped the man didn’t notice his distress.

He didn’t seem to. He smiled a tight-lipped polite smile and opened the door wider. “Go on ahead. I was just leaving, his room is directly down the hall.”

Atsumu watched the man leave and couldn’t help but notice the keychain that was on his keys, the same he saw when he first met Hinata, the number 21 adorned on it. Atsumu dropped his bag on the couch and looked around the apartment. There was absolutely nothing to indicate Hinata lived anywhere else or that he had anybody waiting for him back home. He seemed completely settled. He had some things from home that Atsumu didn’t even realize he brought.

“Toshi, I thought you left?” Atsumu heard the familiar voice question from the back of the apartment. His chest felt tight as he walked back there.

Atsumu pushed his door open and saw him sprawled out across the bed. Hinata jolted forward when he saw the blonde, a grand mixture of surprise, elation, worry, and maybe guilt painting his features.

“Tsumu? What-”

“He’s good looking. How long have you been seeing him?” Atsumu sat on the opposite end of the bed, his back to Hinata.

“Tsumu-”

“How long?” Atsumu bit his lip as he concentrated on the design of his rug. 

“A week or so.” 

Atsumu hummed in repose. 

“How are you here?”

“I wanted to surprise you.” Atsumu turned to face Hinata and felt another piece of him just shatter. “I wanted to see if we were still fighting for anything.”

Hinata let out a shaky breath and reached for the blonde. Atsumu let him because if anything, he just wanted to feel Hinata one last time.

“I didn’t know how to tell you-”

Atsumu sniffled and laughed humorlessly. “You never know how to tell me anything. I think that’s part of the problem.” Hinata tightened his grip around the other man and Atsumu did the same. “I heard you Tobio that you’re wanting to stay here, is that true?”

That time, Atsumu didn’t feel Hinata freeze or stiffen, it was more like he felt him release. “Yeah. I got an offer a couple of months ago. I’ve been back on the team since.”

Atsumu pulled back and looked down at Hinata. “Sho… I wasn’t holding you back, was I?”

Hinata wiped a tear away. “No. Never. I think this was holding you back, though.”

Atsumu shrugged. “It was worth fighting for at least for a little bit, wasn’t it?”

He tried to smile. “It was.”

“It’s probably not the right time for us and that’s okay.” The words spilled out of Atsumu’s mouth from deep inside of him. 

“I’m sorry about-”

“No, Shoyo, I’m sorry that I made you hold on. I mean, yes this is incredibly shitty of you to do but... You deserve more and I know that.”

“I hope you know that you do too.”

Atsumu leaned against him and breathed his familiar scent in. “I’ll always be your friend.” Atsumu cupped his face and rubbed the stubble that had started to accumulate there. “Stop working yourself so hard, learn how to delegate.”

He smiled slightly and pushed his forehead against the blondes. “I will.”

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`

Atsumu went back home that night. He said his goodbye to Hinata and they tearfully promised to keep in touch. Atsumu left a piece of him in Osaka, but he didn’t regret it. Not at first anyway

  
  


Atsumu did have to move out of that house though, although it took him another year to do it. It happened much to Bokuto’s dismay. He cried the day that the blonde moved his last box into his car. Akaashi was trying unsuccessfully to console him.

“I’ll still be around, Bo. I’m just a phone call away. I’m not even moving that far.” Atsumu hugged him tighter than the other two guys combined and he squeezed the breath out of Atsumu

.

“Let him go, love, you’re going to crush him,” Akaashi grumbled as he pulled Bokuto against him and ran his fingers through his hair.

Atsumu shook his head with a smile and looked back at Oikawa. “We can go.”

He turned back to Kageyama who was giving him that same sad smile he had been giving the blonde for months. “Stop looking at me like that.”

“You’re really leaving.” It was more a comment than a question. “I got used to having you here. Who else am I going to talk shit about Sho to?” 

“Literally anybody will do that with you. I just-” Atsumu glanced back at the house and took a deep breath. “I can’t be here anymore. I can’t be in that room that still smells like him.”

“We could have switched rooms.” He muttered.

Atsumu laughed and hugged him. “I’m a phone call away. With your arm, you could throw a stick and it would hit my place.”

He muttered something else about the streamer’s new place not having a pool. Atsumu waved to them all, Bokuto still sniffling, and drove away.

  
  
  
  


Oikawa helped Atsumu move into his new duplex. The blonde really didn’t have much, he needed to work on that. All he really owned was his desk, streaming equipment, and a few bins of things he needed to sort through.

Oikawa looked around and frowned at Atsumu’s living space. “You don’t even have a couch. Or a table. Or well, any furniture.”

“My bed is being delivered today.” Atsumu picked his phone up and looked at the email. “It’s a new company that delivers locally. They do interior design. I’m tryna’ get in on their marketing campaign, they’re blowin’ up right now.”

Oikawa glanced down at the email then back up at Atsumu with a raised eyebrow. “You know who started that company, don’t you?

Atsumu shook his head and shoved his phone in his pocket. 

Oikawa laughed and shrugged. “I guess you’ll find out. You used to be friends.”

Atsumu rolled his eyes. “Are you gonna be coy or jus’ tell me?”

He pretended to think about it. “It’s me, love. I’m absolutely going to be coy.”

“Get out, Oikawa.” Atsumu huffed and pointed at the door. He thanked him and kicked him out.

  
  
  


There was a knock on his door an hour later and he went to answer it.

“Akagi? Holy shit, hi!”

He looked up from his clipboard and grinned. “Miya! Wow, hi!”

“It’s been a while! Oikawa mentioned I might know who owned this company, I had no idea it was you!” Atsumu pulled his door open wider and stepped to the side.

He smiled sheepishly and tapped his clipboard. “It’s not me. I work for him. He’s here though, he likes to oversee the deliveries and set ups with newer clients when he has the time. We are bringing in just a bed for now, right?”

Atsumu nodded and showed him where it was going. He followed Akagi outside and spotted that familiar gait, curly head of hair, and tallness. Sakusa stepped down from the SUV he was in. He turned around after talking to another guy that was offloading the bed. 

Sakusa stopped over toward Atsumu and peered at him with something Atsumu would later realize was fondness for a moment before speaking.

“Downsizing?” He asked, nodding towards the duplex.

“Yeah.” Atsumu sighed softly. “I don’t really have any furniture.”

He bobbed his head and pointed up the walkway. “This you?”

Atsumu led them all inside of his place and watched them unload and set up the bed as Sakusa handed him paperwork to sign. He noticed the other man’s name at the top of the form.  _ Sakomi Designs  _ suddenly made sense.

“You just went and started your own company?”

“Yeah, about a year or so ago. We are based out of here but have expanded into some major cities. It’s been fun.” He looked over at Atsumu. “You’re still with J&J?”

“Yeah, I am. I love it there. The schedule is incredibly flexible, it pays well and I have a lot of creative freedom.” Atsumu explained. 

“Why are you downsizing?” Sakusa looked around the townhouse. “Wasn’t the other house bigger? You two finally branch off into your place?”

He nodded at Akagi and the third guy as they finished setting up the bed. Akagi smiled and waved as they went back down to the truck.

Even a year later and a mention of Hinata made his chest tight. Atsumu looked down at the paperwork then back up at Sakusa.

“No, nothing like that,” Atsumu responded quietly.

He furrowed his eyebrows together as he studied the blonde’s face. “Where is he?”

“I think he’s still in Osaka.” Atsumu cleared his throat and turned away from the taller man, taking a moment to look inside the barren fridge. “I don’t really have anything to offer. Want some water-” He turned back around and Sakusa was directly in front of him, their chests inches apart.

“You  _ think  _ he’s in Osaka?” 

Sakusa reached into a box on the blonde’s counter and pulled out two glasses. Sakusa was as blunt as ever although something about the way he spoke felt less invasive than it did before. Less questioning and more concerning.

“Yeah. That’s where he was when we last spoke.”

“When was that?”

Atsumu pulled out his water filter and filled each glass halfway. “Uh- I don’t know, like six months ago or so.”

“You’re not together anymore?”

Atsumu shook his head. Sakusa stood directly behind him. He could feel the heat from his body and all the blonde could think about was the last time they spoke. The last time Sakusa kissed him. The way he felt after before he finally pushed him out of his head.

“Why not?”

“Work, I guess. He moved to Osaka, the distance was too much and we just-” Atsumu sighed. “I dunno, Omi. I don’t wann talk about it.” 

Sakusa reached for the glass in front of Atsumu and stepped back to lean against the island. “I’m sorry. I hadn’t heard.”

“What about you are Iizuna? How are you two doin’?” 

“That didn’t last very long.” He took a sip of water.

“Why not?”

He shrugged. “You were right from the beginning. His scene wasn’t my scene. We didn’t stay together throughout the semester.” 

“Ya broke up before we graduated?” He nodded. “Gotta say, I didn’t expect that.”

“And I have to say I was expecting an invite to a wedding.” 

Atsumu tilted his head at Sakusa, attempting to sense what his tone was, and tried to give him a small smile. The blonde shrugged. “It didn’t work out that way, I guess.”

“So you’re just here by yourself?” 

“That’s a creepy question to ask, but yes.” Atsumu waved an arm around the space. “It’s fine for me.”

“Yeah. I guess so.” He set his glass in the sink and picked up the paperwork. “I have to go to another delivery. It was nice to see you, Miya.”

“It was nice to see you too. It’s nice to see how well you’re doing.” Atsumu said as they walked toward the door.

He gave Atsumu a smile. “Same to you.” Sakusa walked towards the curb then turned back around. “Do you think we could catch up sometime? Get coffee or something?”

“I’d like that.”

“I have your number.” He pointed at the form. “It’s pretty unethical, but since you’re standing here I figure it’s alright.”

Atsumu laughed. “It is. You should use it.”

The blonde watched Sakusa climb back into his SUV, give a quick wave then drive away.

  
  
  


Atsumu scrolled through his phone that night and it took every ounce of strength that he had not to call Hinata just to hear his voice. He fell asleep with an uncomfortable tightness in his chest.

Another night, another nightmare.

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

Atsmu spent the next few days buying things he needed for his place. He went from living in a dorm to living with a group of guys, both places already having everything he needed. Hedidn’t realize he didn’t have simple things like shower curtains, a can opener, or a damn dustpan.

Sakusa texted three days after they spoke and invited Atsumu out for breakfast. Atsumu forgot he was a morning person. He set an alarm for 8am and grumbled when he woke up.

Sakusa chose a hole in the wall place the blonde had never been to that was themed after clocks. 

Atsumu sat at a table in the corner and looked over the menu. They had an expansive collection of panini’s that sounded absolutely amazing. He ordered an iced matcha drink and a hot matcha drink for Sakusa. 

  
  


The taller man walked through the door seconds after a server placed the drinks on the table.

“Will you be wanting anything to eat?” She asked.

The blonde glanced up at Sakusa. “We are here for food, right?”

He nodded, “Yeah, of course, get whatever you want.”

“I’ll take the Margherita panini. It sounded amazing.”

“It’s really good! And for you, sir?”

“I’ll have the same.” He gave her a polite smile and she walked away. He looked down at the drink in front of him and laughed. “Do you remember how we met?”

Atsumu shook his head for a second before he realized the only reason he ordered the drink he did for Sakusa was because it was the drink he walked away from at that coffee cart. “I do.”

“To think I couldn’t even afford this back then.” He leaned back slightly in his chair. “You know, your idea to turn my tutoring into a business put me through college.”

Atsumu shrugged. “It was just a way to make money, you were the one putting in all the work. It took a miracle to get me to pass Enomata’s class and you worked one hell of one.” The blonde looked down at his own drink.

“I passed it along to a friend of mine that was in his first year. He’s a really smart guy and he’s working through college on that money really well now.” He sipped his drink. “Are you still streaming?”

“Sometimes. It’s been a little while.”

“Kenma mentioned you haven’t been on in some time.”

Atsumu forgot they were close friends. “I just have been putting a lot of effort into my job.”

“I noticed. That campaign you did for Lola’s Beverages was incredible.”

Atsumu smiled widely. “You saw that?”

He nodded. “I did. I always thought you had a knack for that kind of stuff. You did design my tutoring logo.”

“It went well with that business card you had.”

He groaned. “Ugh, Enomata made those for me so he could stop handing out my number on sticky notes. He said he was going through too many sticky notes. I don’t even remember what it looked like.”

Atsumu laughed softly and grabbed his bag. He dug through it for a moment and pulled out his wallet. “I do.” Atsumu pulled his worn-out business card out of a pocket and slid it across the table.

Sakusa’s eyes lit up. “You still have this?”

“Yeah. I hold onto things. I’m a hoarder.” Atsumu lifted a shoulder and watched Sakusa run his thumb over the faded and wrinkled card.

He slid it back toward the blonde who carefully placed it back in the small wallet. Sakusa raised an eyebrow at it.

“What else do you have in there?”

Atsumu looked down at it and blushed. “Just dumb stuff. Mementos.”  _ A slip of paper that had the first donation from his stream. A thank you note from people who used that pantry in college. The first Psych test he got a good grade on, he cut the “A” out of the corner of it.  _

Their panini’s hit the table and they were absolutely delicious. They talked and talked, before Atsumu knew it three hours had gone by in the blink of a damn eye.

“Are all these clocks right?” Sakusa pulled out his phone and his eyes widened. “Ah, shit. I apologize, but I do have to get going.”

“Don’t worry about it, we’ve been here for a while.” He walked Atsumu to his car and opened his door. 

“I’ll see you soon?”

“Is that a question?” Atsumu chuckled as he slid into his seat.

“I’ll see you soon.” He said more definitively. He squatted down next to the blonde’s car and Atsmu stared down at him, eyebrow quirked slightly. Sakusa studied the fabric of the blonde’s pants as he spoke. “I just wanted to say- I’m sorry for how I was back in college. It wasn’t that long ago, I know, but I was extraordinarily shitty and you never really faulted me for it.”

Atsumu blinked in response, pulling his bottom lip between his teeth.

Sakusa stood and pushed Atsumu’s door shut. “I’ll do better.” Sakusa said the words through Atsumu’s window then turned to jog back to his SUV.

_ Well _ .

That did not go how Atsumu expected it. He drove to his office to get some work in before going home. He got home around 6, ate two bowls of cereal, watched a three-hour movie then fell asleep on his couch thinking about the first time he met Sakusa.

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`

Sakusa and Atsumu started hanging out regularly. They saw each other a few times a week. It was easy with him because they hung out so much before that they were already used to each other. The raven-haired man was incredibly different than the guy Atsumu knew in college, though. He was somehow even smarter and so much more confident. It was one of his best qualities. He wasn’t brash or impolite like he was before, he was more patient and seemed to think a sentence through more thoroughly before speaking it.

Atsumu found himself missing Hinata less the more Sakusa and he hung out, it was helping a lot. His nightmares were also lessening. Sakusa opened up to Atsumu about Iizuna and explained how his work drove them apart. His tutoring took off and he couldn’t handle his new schedule. He made time for Iizuna, but the latter kept telling him he felt like an appointment and not a boyfriend. 

Atsumu even started streaming again. He went smaller, taking his regulars with him, and it somehow still ended up being lucrative. With the blonde’s newfound marketing skills, the account grew easily. It was nice to be talking to everyone again.

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`

One afternoon, Atsumu was feeling particularly lonely and picked up his phone to call the person he had held onto a friendship with the most.

“Hey, hey, hey TsumTsum!” Bokuto cheered excitedly into the phone.

“Hi Ko, how are you?”

“Fucking great! You called at the perfect time. You’re coming over to hang out with us.”

“Okay, but who is us?” 

“You already said okay, so come… now! Bring a bathing suit!” He ended the call before Atsumu had a chance to respond.

  
  
  


Atsumu pulled on swim trunks and stuffed a bag full with a spare change of clothes, and headed over to their house. Even without Hinata, he still ended up crashing on their couch whenever he went over.

  
  
  


“Wait!”

Atsumu heard someone shout as he parked his car. He looked over to see Kageyama running full speed toward his car.

Atsumu stepped out as he reached it. “Overly enthusiastic greeting for you.”

“Letmejustsaythatthiswasn’tmyideaitwasBokuto’sideadon’tbemadatme-”

He was speaking so fast that Atsumu didn’t even try to understand what he was saying.

Atsumu grabbed his bag out of the car and started walking toward the house. “What are you talkin’ about?”

“I told him not to. I really tried.” Kageyama had that sad smile on his face that the blonde hadn’t seen since he moved out of his best friend’s room.

“What are you-”

Atsumu looked past Kageyama and saw exactly what he was referring to.

Hinata was standing on the porch, leaning against the banister drinking a beer. He had his back to them, but Atsumu would recognize that orange hair anywhere.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm sorry this is late :''') i wasn't sure about the ending but i just wanted something promising and happy. i'm a sap, what can i say

He froze in place and shook his head in disbelief. “You told him not to do what exactly?” Atsumu spoke slowly as he watched Hinata’s back. 

The shorter man threw his head back in laughter at whoever he was talking to. That same goddamn feeling came back, Atsumu’s chest felt tight and his head felt weightless.

“I’m sorry. I told him this was a stupid idea. There’s only a few of us here. Bokuto and Akaashi are inside. Oikawa is there somewhere with Iwa. Osamu is here with some big guy. And- and-”

“And Shoyo?” Atsumu turned to face Kageyama and couldn’t express what he was feeling.

“That Iizuna guy is here. And Sakusa is here. Maybe it’s more than a few people.”

“This is fine. It’s fine. It’s not my place anymore, we ended things, it’s been a long time.” Atsumu stared at the back of Hinata’s dark orange covered head. “A really long time.”

“We can go around the back.”

Atsumu nodded repeatedly. “Yes. I would appreciate that.”

Kageyama somehow slipped him around the back of the house. He stomped straight for Bokuto who was cutting fucking tomatoes by the grill. He saw Atsumu and started to smile, but that smile faded when he saw the expression on Atsumu’s face.

“I told you not to do this, Bokuto.” Akaashi shook his head.

“It was a stupid idea.” Iwaizumi agreed.

“You should have told him.” Oikawa chided.

Bokuto’s eyes darted between everyone and he started stepping backwards. 

“COME. HERE.” Atsumu gripped his arm and dragged him towards the water.

“I-I-I-I-” 

Atsumu took a deep breath and dropped his bag. He kicked off his sandals. “Get in the water.”

“Are you-” He glanced back at Akaashi for help. Akaashi shook his head. “Are you-” He dropped his voice to a whisper. “Are you going to drown me, TsumTsum? You can’t swim.”

“No. You said to bring a bathing suit. So let’s swim. You can teach me. Yer all about gettin’ overly involved in my life so ya might as well teach me a life skill.” Atsumu snapped.

“Okay…”

As Bokuto hesitantly took his shirt off. Atsumu stood looking over the edge of the pool with his hands on his hip waiting. As he stood there, deep breathing and fuming, he didn’t realize that a few of the guys had snuck up behind him. He heard what sounded like Hinata shouting. As he started to turn around, he saw Iizuna just in time for him to ‘playfully’ push the blonde into the water.

As Atsumu unsuccessfully tried to swim, his shirt decided it was going to billow up over his face and drown him. Atsumu sunk in the water, thrashing his arms around, and watched as his mundane life flash before his eyes. He decided to stop fighting it when he felt someone pulling him out of the water. It was probably seconds, but it felt like hours.

“-fuck is wrong with you? Doesn’t everyone that has set foot in this house know he can’t swim? What’s your damn problem?” 

Atsumu coughed and sputtered up water as he laid on the warm stone next to the pool. Atsumu stared into the sun and tried to pinch himself.

“This isn’t a dream. You definitely just almost drowned for the...maybe fourth time in that pool.”

Atsumu turned his head and stared at Hinata. How did he even get to him so fast? Bokuto was standing right next to him. Atsumu looked to find said man looking even guiltier than before. Apparently not everyone knew his weakness in life was water. The blonde looked back at Hinata and he smiled slightly.

“Hey Atsumu.” His voice was as calming and soft as Atsumu remembered. 

“Hi.”

“Felt like dying today?” He offered his hand and pulled the taller man up to a sitting position.

“Not when the day started. I planned to go swimming and maybe have a beer or two.” Atsumu answered.

Atsumu pulled off the shirt that tried to kill him. It committed attempted murder again as it got stuck around his head. Hinata pulled it off the rest of the way because the blonde just wanted to embarrass himself further apparently.

“This wasn’t how I imagined seeing you again, I have to say.” Hinata reached down and squeezed Atsumu’s hand as the latter realized he hadn’t let go yet. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine. I mostly just want to know how you got across the yard faster than Bokuto who literally needed to move 3 inches.” Atsumu turned towards Bokuto again and realized he had run back into the house.

Oikawa plopped down next to Atsumu and dangled his feet in the water. “I’m going to teach you to swim. It’s an important life skill.” 

Atsumu rolled his eyes. “I have gotten by this far without having to know how to swim. If I hadn’t have been pushed, I would have stayed my happy ass in the shallow end where I’m meant to be.”

“I’m so sorry, Miya! I had no idea you couldn’t swim!” Iizuna put his hand on the blonde’s shoulder and at least looked guilty.

Atsumu couldn’t help but wonder why he was even there.

He waved the other guy off. “It’s fine, Iizuna. I shouldn’t be by any body of water.”

Hinata continued staring at him as he spoke. Atsumu caught his eye and couldn’t look away. He didn’t look away from that familiar gaze until he spotted a familiar face on the deck in his peripheral, laughing with his brother.

Atsumu stared at Hinata in disbelief as he wracked his brain for the name he heard Hinata calling out from his bedroom all that time ago.

“You brought Toshi?”

Oikawa stared back at the blonde. “How do you know Ushiwaka?”

Kageyama looked between his best friend and Atsumu. “Wait, what’s going on here?”

Atsumu let out a short breath and watched Hinata struggle to come up with an excuse. “I didn’t know they invited you-”

Atsumu tore his gaze away from Hinta and scowled at Kageyama. “Why tha’ fuck am I here?”

Kageyama recoiled, having never been talked to like that from the bloned. Kageyma always called him ‘the calm in the storm’, but that was the opposite of what he was feeling.

“I don’t- Bokuto wanted to hang out and I-” He looked at Hinata again. “I don’t understand what’s happening here. Didn’t you two break up? Like a year and a half ago? Amicably?”

Atsumu scoffed at that word. He pulled myself to his feet and felt his hands start to shake. “So, what, I’m here to meet my ex's boyfriend?”

Bokuto appeared again. “I’m sorry, Tsumu, I just thought you and Shoyo were so good together. I thought- I thought if you saw each other again- Since the distance isn’t a factor anymore-”

Atsumu took a step back and stared at all of them coldly before his gaze fell on Hinta who had since gotten to his feet as well.

“Did you really not tell anybody anything?”

“No.” He admitted quietly.

“Of course ya didn’t.” Atsumu scoffed again. Kageyama moved toward him, but he held a hand up. “So, none of you know that while I was here waitin’ for him after he moved across the country without bothering to tell me until the last possible minute, he was off cheatin’ on me with Toshi over there. I’m really hopin’ that I wouldn’t have been invited if all of that was public info.”

Hinata rubbed his eyes and Kageyama glared at him. “You did what?”

“Oh yeah. I flew down to Osaka to see him and fight for something that I thought wasn’t worth losing and turns out Hinata here was already fuckin’ around with somebody else.

Atsumu spoke quietly and coldly, not caring anymore about their feelings anymore. The blonde picked up his bag, flung it over his shoulder and crossed his arms.

“I didn’t care, ya know? I did, but at the same time I knew that you needed to let me go and I needed to let you go and the fact that you were with someone else made that easier. I honestly didn’t think I would even see you again and that made it easier.” Atsumu sighed and squeezed the water out of his hair. “Ya know what… I don’t- I don’t even care anymore. I want all of you to know that. Bokuto, I love you to death but this was a really stupid fucking idea.” He started to say something but Atsumu kept talking. “And Tobio- you should have told me out there that your damn friend here brought a guy back with him and not let me set foot in this goddamn house!” 

Atsumu wiped his face and realized he was crying. He couldn’t help but let out a laugh. 

“Atsumu,” Hinata started.

“You’ve done enough damage, don’t you think?” Oikawa spoke up. He pulled an arm around Atsumu’s shoulder protectively. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know.”

“I don’t-” Atsumu sighed and looked away. “It doesn’t matter. I’m going to go.” 

He shook off Oikawa’s arm. They all started to protest at once, but Atsumu stopped listening and walked away. His energy to fight them had dwindled.

Atsumu pulled a t-shirt and shorts out of his bag and pulled them on in the empty living room. He was mumbling and muttering to himself, freely crying like an absolutely crazy person when he heard the sliding glass door open. He turned to see none other than Saksua.

“Oh, hey. I was just leaving.” He picked his bag up and shoved his feet into his sandals. “Have fun!” 

  
  
  


He walked out of that damn house and went straight for his car. He groaned loudly when he realized he was blocked in. He rested his head against the cool window and kicked his car.

“It’s not the car's fault.” Sakusa spoke up behind the blonde. He held out his keys. “I’m blocking you in.” He got into his SUV and moved his car back enough for Atsumu to get out.

Atsumu got in his car as Sakusa squatted down next to the window. 

“I don’t want to talk about it.” ATsumu stated as he wiped his face.

“Want to get dinner tonight?” He asked, ignoring any craziness.

Atumu choked out a laugh and leaned against the steering wheel. “Really?”

“Yeah. I think an actual date is overdue.”

“You want to take me...on a date? Like a date-date?”

“I do.” Sakusa tapped his fingers against the door.

“Why?” Atsumu blurted it out without thinking.

“Because I like you Atsumu. Because you’re a good friend. Because you deserve more than all of that shit-” He pointed back at the house with his thumb. “And because I shouldn’t have been so stupid and dense in college.”

Atsumu shrugged. “You weren’t stupid, maybe a tiny bit clueless.” Atsumu leaned back against the leather seat and nodded. “Okay. Let’s do it.”

He gave the blonde a wide smile. “Alright. I’ll pick you up at 6?”

“That sounds perfect.” Atsumu looked up at him and decided that they both deserved a second chance.

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`

Atsumu ignored the flurry of texts he received throughout the rest of the day. 6 from Kageyama, all saying some variance of him being sorry. 19 from Bokuto, mostly saying he was sorry and please don’t hate him and Ushijima wasn’t that good looking anyway. Atsumu rolled his eyes at that. There were 2 from Hinata that were him apologizing and telling Atsumu he was right and a bunch of other things the blonde didn’t care to read. There was 1 from Akaashi also saying he was sorry but because Bokuto was bombarding Atsumu with messages. Atsumu responded to Akaashi and told him it was fine, he was over it. Oikawa sent selfies of him and Iwa in a vain attempt to make Atsumu feel better.

  
  


Atsumu looked in his closet and could not decide what to wear.

It was just dinner.

A date dinner.

A dinner date.

A date.

A date with Kiyoomi Sakusa.

Atsumu took a calming breath and reached for one of his newer dress shirts that he hadn’t had a chance to wear yet. It was a fitted dark red shirt that would go really well with the dark slacks he had hanging near them.

  
  
  


Atsumu sat on the corner of his couch watching the damn clock tick. He almost fell off of it when Sakusa knocked at his door.

Atsumu straightened his pants out and grabbed his phone. He pulled the door open and almost fell over again. Atsumu wasn’t lying or trying to raise the taller man’s ego all those years ago, he was always telling the truth. Sakusa was  _ incredibly  _ good looking and that had just grown with age. His hair was less messy, and more purposefully styled the way he had it, those few curly tendrils hanging in his face. His muscles were even more well defined than they were in college. His button-up black shirt stretched over them. He looked down at Atsumu and smiled softly.

“You ready?”

Atsumu nodded and followed him out. He kept looking at the blonde out of the corner of his eye and Atsumu flushed under his gaze every damn time he looked in his direction.

  
  
  


Sakusa took the blonde to another little restaurant he’d never heard of or been to, but they had the most amazing Italian food according to the taller man. They had little slices of fried lasagna for an appetizer alongside their salads. Atsumu filled up on the best Osso Bucco. It was all incredible. 

They went for a walk after and talked more. They went over the past few couple of years of their lives since they’d graduated from college. He’d done so well for himself, but it wasn’t surprising. With how smart he was, there was nowhere he would go but forward.

It was getting dark and Atsumu found himself regretting not bringing a sweater. He shivered in the cold air and bit back a smile as Sakusa scooted closer to him on the bench they were sitting on.

“We can go. It’s getting late.” He stood, offered Atsumu his hand, and walked him back to his car.

  
  
  


Sakusa walked Atsumu to his door when they arrived back at his place. Atsumu pushed his hair back and looked down at the welcome mat in front of his door.

“Did you want to come in?” 

Sakusa nodded slowly.

Atsumu kicked off his shoes by the door and went into the kitchen. “Do ya wanna beer or water or somethin’?”

“Oh, you actually have something to offer.” Sakusa teased and Atsumu glared at him. 

“I went grocery shoppin’ eventually.” Atsumu pulled out two beers and handed him one.

Sakusa sat on the stool on the other side of the kitchen island. He ran his fingers down the condensation dripping down the sides of his beer bottle.

“I know I said it before but I really am sorry about everything before. I-uh, I thought about you, over the years, ya know? I never should’ve-” Sakusa sighed and looked up at Atsumu. “I never should have been involved in your life like I was. Especially when I couldn’t be honest with you, let alone myself.”

Atsumu tilted his beer to his mouth and gave him half a smile. “I wasn’t the brightest then either. I never really told you how I felt either, if I’m being completely honest I was definitely using your lack of experience for my own benefit.”

Sakusa snorted and smiled down at his bottle, taking another drink. “I was really glad to see you again.”

“Me too, Kiyoomi.”

Atsumu smirked as the blush that crossed the dark-haired man’s cheeks.

“So our first date… what are the chances of another?” Sakusa’s voice became low with his question.

“Let me think. I have to add up all yer points.” Atsumu leaned forward over the counter. “You showed up on time. Ya look...so good.” Atsumu sighed and took a drink. “You opened my door, good on you. You took me to an incredible restaurant that I would like to go back to tomorrow and the next day. Ya walked me to my door.” Atsumu tapped his finger on his chin. 

Sakusa took the last drink of his beer and went to the trash can next to the blonde. Atsumu felt the heat of his body from behind. He leaned against the blonde and slid one of his hands up Atsumu’s back. Atsumu stood up straight and Sakusa’s hands moved to his shoulders.

“Seems like I did decently.”

“You did.” Atsumu said, breathlessly.

His hands against Atsumu’s skin made him feel like he was on fire.

“Am I still doing well?” One of Sakusa’s hands slid around Atsumu’s neck and held his cheek. His other hand wrapped around Atsumu’s ribcage.

“Yes.” Atsumu leaned his head back against Sakusa’s shoulder and looked up at him.

“I would really love it if we had a chance.” Sakusa whispered as he lightly pressed his lips against Atsumu’s temple.

“I would too.” 

“Can I ask you something that’s probably stupid?” Sakusa questioned as he kissed his temple again. Atsumu nodded. “Do you still love Hinata?”

Atsumu pushed his eyebrows together and blinked at him, the sudden question confusing.

“I told you it was probably stupid, but the way you reacted earlier-.”

Atsumu laughed softly. “It’s not stupid. It’s-it’s an understandable question. I just-” Atsumu polished off his beer and stared at the ingredient label. “I am not in love with him. I know that. I think a part of me will always love a part of him, but I learned to let him go a while ago.”

Atsumu turned around and looked up at him. “I know that’s pro’ly a shitty answer and it makes me look really bad, but-”

“No, no it doesn’t. It was a significantly better answer than I expected.” He placed both of his hands on either side of Atsumu’s jaw. “I  _ really _ want to kiss you.”

“Then kiss me, Kiyoomi,” Atsumu whispered the words and he obliged.

Sakusa finally kissed Atsumu and the blonde knew right away that they were going to get far with their chance. He kissed slowly, his hands sliding up into Atsumu’s bleached hair. The slightly shorter man reached up and slid his hands behind Sakusa’s neck.

They deepened the kiss and Sakusa pulled Atsumu onto the counter. They were both sucking in each other’s air, panting and sloppily making out. Atsumu wrapped his legs around Sakusa’s waist. He pushed against the raven-haired man and impatiently yanked his shirt open.

Sakusa stopped kissing him and looked down as his buttons clattered to the floor. Atsumu bit his lip sheepishly as Sakusa looked up at him. Sakusa kissed him  _ hard _ . Atsumu smiled against his mouth as Sakusa reached down and unbuttoned his slacks. Atsumu lifted his hips to let him pull the offending clothing off. All the blonde was wearing was the shirt. Sakusa let out a shaky breath as he stared down at Atsumu.

Atsumu blushed and scrunched his face up. “Stop lookin’ at me like that.”

Atsumu yelped as Sakusa lifted him and carried him to his room, setting him down on the bed. Sakusa let his shirt fall to the floor and watched Atsumu scoot up the bed, slowly unbuttoning his own shirt.

“Come here-”

Atsumu reached for Sakusa, pulling him down toward him by his belt buckle. His lips hit the blonde’s neck and he pushed Atsumu’s hair back. Atsumu gasped a breath out and unbuckled his belt. He pulled it off and threw it on the floor. His pants followed. 

Sakusa hovered over Atsumu, nothing between them.

“Are you sure about this?” 

“Yes. Of course, I am.” Atsumu blinked up at him. “Are you?” He couldn’t help the smallest amount of uncertainty that laced his tone. 

“Yes.” Sakusa breathed the word before Atsumu was done responding. 

He kissed Atsumu softly and slid his hand up his thigh. Atsumu let his body relax against Sakusa’s. He pressed his lips against the blonde’s collarbone and their erections slid against one another. They both gasped into the others mouth at the contact. Sakusa wrapped his hand around both of them as Atsumu reached for the plastic bottle that was the third thing he unpacked after moving in.

Sakusa sucked light pink marks into Atsumu’s neck as he stroked both of them, slowly gripping tighter with each movement of his hand. 

“Omi,” Atsumu whimpered his name, burying his face in Sakusa’s neck. “Omi-Omi, nnng fuck, you have to stop-”

Sakusa pulled back worriedly.

Atsumu pressed against him, sliding his tongue against Sakusa’s lips. “No- just. Fuck. I want to come when yer inside me. Please.”

Kiyoomi slid his lubed up hand between them and pressed inside of Atsumu, swallowing his groans.

Atsumu gasped when Sakusa finally pushed inside of him.

“Kiyo-omi- Gods-” Atsumu groaned his name as Sakusa sunk his teeth into the blonde’s neck.

“Fuck, Atsummu.” He cursed against Atsumu’s skin and moved faster.

Atsumu slid his legs up and gripped them around Sakusa’s back. He rocked against Atsumu, grunting with each movement. His breath was hot against the blonde’s neck. Atsumu tugged on the ends of his hair until he groaned his name.

It wasn’t long before Atsumu felt warmth pooling, it was white-hot and creeping up inside of him. He thrust once, twice, three more times before it overtook Atsumu. Sakusa came minutes later and collapsed against Atsumu. The blonde slid his hands into that soft curly hair and kissed the top of his head. Sakusa’s forehead was pressed against Atsumu’s chest.

“Wow.”

Sakusa whispered against the blonde’s chest. He kissed the middle of his chest, up his neck then stopped at his mouth. Atsumu leaned his head toward Sakusa and kissed him. He rolled onto his side and pulled Atsumu against his body.

“Should I go-”

“Stay.” Atsumu threw his arm across Sakus’s torso. “You should stay.”

“Thank goodness.” Sakusa kissed his temple, his forehead, and his cheek.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sry it ended with a sex scene...again, can't help myself.
> 
> i hope you guys liked this, i've never written any SakuAtsu that was longer than like 2k words. thanks for reading!


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